Bengaluru becomes first Indian city to get live traffic signal timings on Mappls app

An innovative traffic signal countdown feature has been launched in Bengaluru's Mappls app, aiming for a broader rollout later.

In a first-of-its-kind innovation in India, Bengaluru has introduced live traffic signal countdowns on the Mappls app, offering commuters real-time updates on signal timings directly within the navigation interface. The feature, now live in the city, is expected to significantly improve urban mobility and driver decision-making.

The feature, developed with local authorities from Bengaluru, aims to make commutes more predictable and could expand to other cities if successful.(X)

The initiative is a result of collaboration between the Bengaluru City Traffic Police, Arcadis India, and the tech teams at Mappls (powered by MapmyIndia). As users approach a traffic signal, the app now mirrors the live countdown of the traffic light, showing exactly how many seconds remain until the signal changes.

“Can you see the live traffic signal timings showing up on Mappls app? As the real traffic signal counts down, you see the same on the map inside Mappls app. Magical, and helpful :)" Rohan Verma, the director of MapmyIndia posted on X.

"Live in Bangalore now thanks to @blrcitytraffic n Arcadis India, and the work done by team @mappls @MapmyIndia. This is an India first btw! These and so many more innovations make Mappls, India’s own swadeshi maps & navigation app, much better for all Indians,” he added.

His post gained more than 265K views on X, and several replies. Bengaluru, often plagued by traffic snarls, is the pilot city for this feature. If successful, it could be rolled out across other metro cities in the coming months.

“What would be the use. Genuine question,” a user asked, to which Verma replied, “When you are 500 metres away for eg you will know how much time is left for the traffic light to turn red/green. Such knowledge can be magical, helpful and invaluable in so many urgent scenarios you may be in, besides in daily driving. And the power of Mappls MapmyIndia platform to be IoT connected with transport and government infrastructure - you can imagine what all other alerts from further up ahead can be given to you, all these making traffic flow smoother.”

“Wow ! I believe this feature is not even available in google,” another stated.