On Saturday evening, after a sleepathon that lasted a solid 4 hours, I woke up completely re-charged. The Arien immediately jumped into action. The story so far: He had installed SQL Server and was trying to create some alerts that would notify him if the server instance crashed.. (I think) and so for most of the morning - he had been very busy. Now, he was fed up and really wanted me to get up and so we could go on a drive.
After calling the senior Arien and getting his assurance that it was indeed a good day to check out his tollway. It was a loooooooong loooong drive and I was quite exhausted. The Arien was taking a break from breaking his head on SQL so he was not complaining. I cud not believe that the Taurean and the Senior Arien travelled this distance on a daily basis. We went to the senior Arien's office. After a very loong time, I was visiting the senior Arien at his site. The senior Arien was of course full of enthu. He asked us if we wanted Chai - I did - but I also knew that he was eager to show off his elevated tollway that that question was a mere formaility. The senior Arien then asked us to leave our car at his ofc and asked us to get into his Scorpio. The Arien was now full Khush. Anyway, the Senior Arien started showing off the hi-fi tollway - first he showed us the 4-lane 
flyover that could easily accomodate most of the Electronic City traffic and improve their cuurent traffic situation. The lanes were indeed quite wide. I asked him what happens if there is an accident or someone has a breakdown. In a fast lane, that is usually a very frustrating moment. He showed us the laybyes created in case of a breakdown. We actually stopped at one of the laybyes. The driver signalled that others can carry on as most ppl slowed to watch us. There was space enough for at least 3 cars to be parked at the same time, at the laybye.
flyover that could easily accomodate most of the Electronic City traffic and improve their cuurent traffic situation. The lanes were indeed quite wide. I asked him what happens if there is an accident or someone has a breakdown. In a fast lane, that is usually a very frustrating moment. He showed us the laybyes created in case of a breakdown. We actually stopped at one of the laybyes. The driver signalled that others can carry on as most ppl slowed to watch us. There was space enough for at least 3 cars to be parked at the same time, at the laybye.As we drove on, there was quite a few vehicles using the tollway and I jokingly asked the senior Arien if the project was on profit mode and he said that there were issues resulting in a hit on the profits. 
First of all, only a minority of the folks at Electronic City were actually using the tollway as opposed to the original plan. Second, folks who used their own transport seemed to consider the toll quite expensive. During the free run, everybody enjoyed escaping from the traffic chaos but when it came to paying up for the service, they were fewer takers. However, he expected this to change in a short span of time. Especially, when they notice the ease at which they can easily traverse the usually messy stretch. I also felt that it was just a question of time. No tollway is free. I recall in Mumbai also, we have these tolls and while it is a realtively new concept in Bangalore, I am sure it would pick up too.
First of all, only a minority of the folks at Electronic City were actually using the tollway as opposed to the original plan. Second, folks who used their own transport seemed to consider the toll quite expensive. During the free run, everybody enjoyed escaping from the traffic chaos but when it came to paying up for the service, they were fewer takers. However, he expected this to change in a short span of time. Especially, when they notice the ease at which they can easily traverse the usually messy stretch. I also felt that it was just a question of time. No tollway is free. I recall in Mumbai also, we have these tolls and while it is a realtively new concept in Bangalore, I am sure it would pick up too.
The senior Arien also showed us the phone booths from where ppl cud call if there was a traffic jam, an accident, or if they needed some help. When we had visited, the phone was not yet connected. It still looked pretty hi-fi. I asked him why tht was required wen almost everyone has a cell phone these days. He explained tht most ppl are concerned 'bout their bills, incoming, outgoing etc. and so rather than assume tht one of the folks with a cell phone wud call, it was always better to have these bhooths. The logic made a lot of sense if you think for a moment that the person who may be at the juncture could be a driver of the Electronic City buses or can be a driver of these indicabs. I mean, we always assume someone will call, but usually, these drivers may have a mobile phone but may not be able to make any outgoing calls. Hmmm.. so that was taken care of as well.. Gr8!!
We neared the actual tolling booth and we watched the ppl drive past the booth, either driving too slowly or driving too fast. The folks standing around the booth, were having those lamp-cum-stick kinda thing which they waved to ask a speeding person to stop or a slowing down driver to keep moving. We stayed and watched for a while. I think it is a boon who those who travel to Electronic City on a daily basis. For the others, it is more like a tourist spot - quite far away from the city but still who does not want to say - "Yes - I travelled on the 10-lane Elevated tollway. The first of its kind in Bangalore" - I sure do :)
We really wanted a Chai now as it was growing dark and so we did what we usually do - walked into Indiranagar's Shanthi Sagar for a hot cuppa of Chai and spent the next twenty minutes complaining 'bout how the standard of Chai at Shanthi Sagar had fallen. Have you been on the Elevated Tollway? Write to me 'bout your thots on it :)
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