Bengaluru has been ranked the second-most congested city in the world by the latest TomTom report. This comes as no surprise given the city's long-standing traffic problems. The number of registered vehicles in Bengaluru grew sharply from around 1 crore in 2020-21 to nearly 1.23 crore by April 2025. Major work zones like Electronics City, Whitefield, and Outer Ring Road see lakhs of daily commuters, but public transport did not initially focus on these areas. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) runs 7,067 buses daily, serving nearly 48 lakh passengers. Despite this scale, it faces challenges like a shrinking fleet, slow speeds, and no bus priority lanes. Former Infosys CFO T.V. Mohandas Pai suggested allowing private participation in BMTC, but Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy opposed it, saying public transport should not run for profit. The city’s metro network, Namma Metro, started in 2011 but missed key employment hubs early on. Only recently, extensions like the Purple Line to Whitefield in 2023 and Yellow Line to Electronics City in 2025 boosted ridership significantly. Yet, the busy Outer Ring Road will get metro service only by 2027. Bengaluru’s Suburban Railway Project, aiming to serve 20 lakh commuters on four corridors, was delayed from 2026 to 2030. Other problems include poor pedestrian, cycling, and first-last mile connectivity. Shared auto services are limited, and demand surges cause long waits and price hikes. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA), intended to coordinate transport, has struggled to become an effective decision-maker. Without strong regulation and better planning, Bengaluru’s commuters may face long traffic nightmares ahead.