The long Christmas-New Year week, eagerly awaited by many residents of Bengaluru, turned into a stressful experience for thousands as massive traffic snarls choked all major exit roads from the city and travel costs skyrocketed. While the rush out of the city tested the patience of commuters, nearby tourist destinations like Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Gokarna and Mysuru witnessed a significant influx of visitors.
With Christmas falling on a Thursday and many authorities granting a week off until January 1, 2026, the exodus from the city began as early as Wednesday. On Wednesday evening, the exit corridors, especially Mysuru Road, Tumakuru Road and Old Madras Road, were clogged with slow-moving outbound traffic as families and groups headed out for their vacations.
Congestion on the Bengaluru-Mysuru controlled access expressway peaked on Wednesday morning, especially near the toll plazas, where long queues of bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched for kilometres. Hundreds of vehicles bound for Mysuru and onwards to Kodagu were stuck in a jam, with many commuters reporting delays of almost an hour at several places. The growling started Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday morning.
Suresh Naik P., an IT professional traveling from Electronics City, said the situation worsened once he joined the expressway via NICE Road. “Traffic kept getting worse as we moved forward and the toll gates became major bottlenecks. Normally, it takes about two-and-a-half hours to travel to Mysuru from Bengaluru. This time, due to the festive rush, the journey took almost three-and-a-half hours,” he said.
Inside the city, traffic police prepared for traffic jams, especially around popular shopping centers where special traffic measures were taken. Officials said: “The measures were aimed at ensuring smoother movement and preventing traffic jams from spilling over on major roads”.
A senior police official said that while no corridor reported complete gridlock, the volume of vehicles was significantly higher than usual. “We expected increased traffic due to the long weekend and festive celebrations. Elaborate arrangements have been made to manage the flow, with additional personnel deployed at sensitive junctions and near malls,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has announced the operation of 1,000 more buses during the Christmas festival season. These special services, operated over and above the normal timetables, ran on 19, 20 and 24 December to facilitate travel there before Christmas on 25 December.
KSRTC officials said return special services from various domestic and interstate destinations to Bengaluru will be run on December 26 and 28 to ease the post-festival rush.
Price increase
The festive season has caused a surge in the prices of air tickets and private buses. Air fares from Bengaluru to cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Mumbai have increased by 20-30%, according to travelers and booking platforms. Industry sources said the price hike is likely to continue till the first week of January.
Murali Krishnan, a resident of JP Nagar, said the cost escalation has left him with few options. “I had to book tickets to Kochi for my family on December 27. The trains were fully booked and bus tickets were almost as expensive as air tickets. With no choice, I booked tickets for ₹ 6,000 per person. Normally it would have cost around ₹ 3,500 to ₹ 4,000,” he said.
Published – 24 Dec 2025 22:03 IST
