Bengaluru: With just a few days left for Christmas and New Year, and a series of holidays lined up, Bengaluru is bracing for a surge in travellers. One of the worst-hit areas during festive seasons and long weekends is Majestic, the city’s central transport hub, where traffic congestion often reaches unmanageable levels, mainly due to indiscriminate parking of private buses.

Majestic, located in the heart of the city, is the first stop for thousands of passengers arriving in Bengaluru, especially those travelling by KSRTC buses. The roads in front of the Majestic bus stand are frequently clogged with private buses lined up for long durations to pick up passengers, causing severe inconvenience to pedestrians, commuters and motorists alike.

Anticipating a sharp increase in outbound travel after December 25, Bengaluru Traffic Police have introduced strict time limits for private bus halts in and around Majestic to prevent traffic jams caused by illegal and prolonged parking. The move is aimed at ensuring smoother traffic flow during the festive rush.

According to Bengaluru City Traffic Commissioner Karthik Reddy, private buses will be allowed to stop only briefly to board passengers. During weekends and festival days, buses must pick up passengers and move within 30 seconds. On regular working days, a maximum halt time of one to two minutes has been permitted.

“If buses stop beyond the prescribed time, it leads to back-to-back queuing of vehicles, resulting in severe congestion. To avoid this, time limits have been fixed, and strict enforcement will follow,” the Commissioner said.

Traffic police officials believe the measure will significantly reduce bottlenecks in the Majestic area, especially during peak travel hours, when thousands of vehicles pass through the stretch.

However, the decision has drawn criticism from the Karnataka State Bus Owners’ Association. Representatives of the association argued that the time limits are impractical, particularly during weekends and festivals. They pointed out that boarding passengers often takes 10 to 15 minutes due to heavy luggage and large crowds.

“During holiday seasons, passengers travel with extra baggage, and it is not possible to load luggage and board passengers within 30 seconds. We urge the authorities to reconsider and extend the time limit,” the association stated, appealing to traffic police to adopt a more flexible approach.

Despite the opposition, traffic police have indicated that enforcement will continue in the interest of public convenience and smooth vehicular movement. Commuters have largely welcomed the move, hoping it will ease chronic congestion in one of Bengaluru’s busiest zones during the festive season.