Share autos, travel hassle-free
Bangaloreans seem to have pulled out a coup of sorts to address the menace of autorickshaws. Taking cue from the successful car-pooling, they have initiated autorickshaw-pooling/sharing, or auto-pooling/sharing, to harness the advantages of the privately-owned public transport mode and do away with all its pitfalls.

An auto-pooling initiative undertaken by Seetharam Vishwanath, general manager, Outer Ring Road Companies Association(ORRCA), has gathered pace and 200-odd companies and 500-odd Bangaloreans have formed an auto-sharing fraternity.

In fact, the ORRCA is currently trying to streamline its autorickshaw-pooling programme in a structured manner. If everything falls in place, a city-wide launch of the auto-pooling is likely by September-end or early October.

The motto is simple: if hiring autorickshaw seems to be a hassle, then pool in and rent an autorickshaw. If implemented on a wider scale, autorickshaw-pooling might not only blunt the menace of the drivers but also reduce the traffic congestion.

Bangalore firm develops exclusive browser for Indians
Epic browser has become the first ever browser to be made in India exclusively for Indians. India is the third biggest country in terms of the internet usage, yet Indians solely depend on browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera etc. All of these are global browsers, and most of the times there not customized well for Indians.

Epic Browser now comes to India! A Bangalore based IT firm has come up with this concept of ‘browser for Indians’. They have launched Epic browser which said to have extremely good features like fast browsing, Indian language typing, built in cricket score widgets and more.

Epic browser features
• 1500 plus ‘desi themes’ available to give the browser a Indian look.
• Latest film songs, stock quotes and live cricket scores
• Simple browsing history deletion
• Built in Antivirus to fight internet virus attacks
• Built in anti-phishing software
• Typing in tens of Indian languages
• High speed

Epic browser uses Firefox platform since Firefox is an open source browser platform. If you are aware of Mozilla Firefox, you can easily customize your Epic browser. The basics are of Firefox’s, but the additional features like above mentioned could make this browser popular in India.

The makers of the Epic Browser claim that it has faster download speed and browsing too. Since it has an integrated antivirus the browser warns a user when he tries to open a site that can contain malicious codes. This may save his PC from getting infected. It also offers anti phishing features. Like many of the mainstream browsers it also has a private mode which does not store the browsing session or private data of the user. It is the first browser to kill harmful flash cookies that intrudes into a users privacy.

You can download Epic for free from the Company's website - http://www.hiddenreflex.com/

DiscoverBangalore recommends Epic browser and requests all Indians to use and also market the browser worldwide.

Mercedes bus trial run over next month
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) on Saturday introduced two Mercedes Benz buses on trial basis to check the quality of the bus and the acceptance by the public before deciding on purchase.

Addressing reporters Transport Minister R Ashok said the fares for the trial trips will be on par with Volvo bus fares and added: “We’ve however decided to ply the buses for Rs 5 (start point to final destination) for the first three days.”

On Saturday, the first day, bus one (335-E) travelled between Majestic and Kadugodi while bus two (356-C) plied between Majestic and Electronic City.

On day two, bus one (500-K) will ply between Vijayanagar and ITPL, and bus two (365) will go between Majestic and Bannerghatta National Park. On day three, bus one (2) will travel between Majestic and J P Nagar 6th Phase and bus two (195) will ply between Chandra Layout and Shivajinagar.

For the next 12 days –– August 31 to September 11 –– bus one (335-E) will travel between Majestic and Kadugodi, while bus two (356-C) will ply between Majestic to Electronic City.

In the second phase of the trial run from September 12 to September 26, bus one (9) will travel between Majestic and Bengaluru International Airport with fares on par with the Vayu Vajra buses. And bus two (500-K) will go between Vijayanagar and ITPL with fares on par with the Vajra buses.

City to have multi-level basement parking soon
The parking problem in the City will finally see a permanent solution if the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) considers the non-invasive basement creation technique to create multi-level basement parking system.

Speaking on the advantages of this technique, H Raja Simha, Technical Advisor to Commissioner, BBMP, explained that this technique is cost-effective, makes optimum usage of open land and most importantly does not disturb the activities on the surface above.

“One-third of the road is utilised for parking vehicles. By providing multi-level basement parking more space can be created to make room for the growing vehicular population,” added Raja Simha, who invented this technique along with Prof B R Sreenivasa Murthy, Professor Emeritus, IISc.

In this technique, a land space is created of any desired depths under an open surface like roads, vacant land, parks without disturbing the movement of vehicles and people above. To create basement parking space, bullet beam jacking technique is adopted in which beams are inserted underground.

Following this mild steel plates are inserted between the flanges to create a platform for parking. In the same manner, this process can be extended in the longitudinal direction to create multiple levels

Bangalore airport to get a new look with Rs 1,000-cr investment
Call it the GVK impact. Sometime in early 2012, Bengaluru International Airport, then in its fourth year, will wear a dramatically new look with an undulating canopy and will almost double its capacity on the passenger terminal side and improve on the air side, too.

It may also go for a ‘Code F' plan to accommodate the mighty Airbus A380, according to top officials of the GVK Group, the second-largest investor with 29 per cent stake in the airport company, BIAL.

Mr G.V.Sanjay Reddy, BIAL's Managing Director, unveiled a Rs 1,000-crore plan on Thursday for the expansion of Terminal 1. The 18-month-long expansion will roll out in November this year and address the growth in passenger traffic as well as the concerns over the airport's infrastructure and design, he told a news conference, the first since the GVK Group came on board in November 2009.

This would meet the immediate needs, while a larger expansion with a new terminal, the T2, would get under way in a year or two. T2, still to be finalised, would be taken up alongside T1 and be completed by 2014-15, when BIA is expected to reach an annual passenger traffic of 17 million.

BIAL would fund it through bank loans of around Rs 700 crore and the remaining as equity. The finances would be tied up soon and many banks have offered to lend for the project, Mr G.V. Krishna Reddy, BIAL's Vice-Chairman and GVK Group's Chairman and Managing Director, said. GVK is also upgrading the Mumbai airport.

Helipad crowns city's tallest building
Those who can afford it can skim over the city's notorious traffic jams.
With a helipad as its crowning glory, India's second World Trade Center (WTC) located within the Brigade Gateway, the 40-acre mixed use project at the Rajajinagar-Malleswaram junction here, will be operational by the first quarter of 2011.

“The Brigade Group has obtained the licence from the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) to classify and manage its one million sq ft office tower, as the World Trade Center, Bangalore,” said M.R. Jaishankar, Chairman & MD, Brigade Group, at a press conference in the city.

“The World Trade Center certification is awarded after rigorous assessment and scrutiny by WTCA whose primary objective is to promote ‘prosperity through trade,” said Robert J. Frueh, Director of Member Services, WTCA.

“WTC Bangalore will soon be a symbol of international trade for the Greater Bangalore Region,” he said “The establishment links this great city with around 311 World Trade Centers in nearly 100 countries.”