Bengalureans don't have to wait at traffic signals for too long, thanks to Google Maps data

Traffic police is studying E-City’s success with signals that use real-time Google Maps data.

Dynamic traffic lights that change with real-time traffic data from Google Maps could well be the norm across Bengaluru City in future. The success of such traffic lights in Electronics City installed three months ago appears to have piqued the interest of the city’s traffic police.

Everyday traffic congestion in Electronics City, an IT hub, prompted the Electronic City Industrial Township Area (ELCITA) to approach the Indian Institute of Science’s Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) for a solution.


CiSTUP proposed the dynamic signals, and ELCITA awarded automation firm Siemens the contract to develop and install them. Siemens opted to use traffic data from Google Maps to time the signals. The system was set up three months ago, said ELCITA CEO Rama NS.

“We have not reached perfection yet, but we are improving. In Bengaluru, the situation is such that even a few seconds’ difference is significant,” Rama said. The congestion patterns have apparently become predictable.

As many as 16 such traffic lights were installed in Electronics City, including at SBI (toll) Junction, Siemens Junction, Paramount Junction, Wipro Junction and Oterra Junction.

Some residents say there is perceptible difference in waiting time at these signals. “The waiting time has reduced by 10-20 seconds at these signals,” says Krishnateja M, a resident of Electronics City. Even a police official from the Electronic City traffic police station said the new dynamic lights had brought about a slight improvement in traffic condition.

Deputy commissioner of police, traffic (east), KV Jagadish, indicated the Bengaluru City traffic police would be discussing implementing a similar technology for the city. He said a meeting with a private firm has been arranged to discuss the idea. “I recently also met the CEO of ELCITA to discuss the technology. We have come to the conclusion that we should implement it at other places in the city, too, but we have to check the cost and how it can be integrated,” the officer said.