New Delhi, May 27 -- Vijay Naidu, a 49-year-old store manager, commutes 17 kilometres on motorcycle from his Madhavaram residence to Mylapore. "This is a 50-minute journey in the morning," he told Down To Earth (DTE). "At night, the same distance takes 30 minutes as I go home late, during non-peak hours."

Having commuted by two-wheeler since 2004, Naidu has seen firsthand the growing traffic problem in Chennai. He noted a significant increase in his travel time: "About 10 years ago, it would take me only 30 minutes to reach office and now it is 50 minutes," he explained. Beyond the sheer volume of vehicles, Naidu added that recent road diversions and metro construction have exacerbated the city's traffic woes.

Meanwhile, Dever experien...