In a podcast with Nikhil Kamath, Bengaluru's top police officers shared insights into the city’s traffic problems. They didn’t blame the traffic police, but pointed to other issues.

M N Anucheth, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said Bengaluru’s traffic problems are due to fast growth rather than poor management. With over 1.23 crore vehicles for a population of 1.5 crore, Bengaluru has the highest vehicle-to-population ratio in India. The city grew quickly, especially after the IT boom, and its roads couldn’t keep up.

The officers also mentioned poor civic management and old infrastructure. Unlike cities like Mumbai and Delhi, which built metro systems early, Bengaluru depended on BMTC buses for many years. Anucheth admitted the city didn’t invest in a better public transport system soon enough, which made traffic worse.

Even though traffic is bad, Anucheth pointed out that Bengaluru’s delays per kilometer are not the worst globally. However, because the traffic police are very visible, they get blamed for the issues.

Despite these problems, there is hope. The new Whitefield–Yeshwanthpur Namma Metro line has reduced peak-time traffic by 17%, and Anucheth believes more improvements will come. For potholes, he said they are often caused by high traffic volume, not corruption. He suggested concrete roads and better city planning to fix this.

Anucheth also pointed out that many problems, like potholes, drainage, and traffic jams, are handled by other agencies, like BBMP and BMRCL, not the traffic police. The police are just the most visible government group on the roads, which is why they get the most complaints.