Bengaluru: Commuting in India's Silicon Valley is a nightmare, making regular work-from-office difficult for employees.
Large office park owners in Bengaluru, including leading office developers and real estate investment trusts (Reits), are stepping in to address infrastructure, commuting and last-mile connectivity gaps, making the daily commute easier and more convenient for employees.
Shiny business parks surrounded by crumbling roads and persistent traffic snarls are a common sight in the southern city. Bengaluru is India's largest commercial office market, accounting for the highest office leasing volumes and remaining the most sought-after destination for occupiers. As global capability centres (GCCs) drive office absorption, they are seeking not only high-quality workplaces but also better infrastructure and easier commuting for employees around their campuses.
Private push
Bagmane Prime Office REIT has undertaken multiple initiatives. It is co-developing the Bagmane DRDO Sports Complex Metro Station, close to its office parks, and has committed ₹40 crore for the it. It will also upgrade the internal aesthetics, passenger amenities, and external facade of the station. It is building a rail-over-bridge, connecting its premium office assets in Whitefield over the railway tracks straight to the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to bypass the bottlenecked railway crossings that add 15–20 minutes to daily commutes.
It has also constructed internal flyovers, skybridges, and elevated walkways. This helps connect its properties like Bagmane Tech Park to Bagmane Cosmos, allowing seamless inter-campus transit for employees flitting between meetings or food courts.
“Modern workspace development is no longer confined within the boundaries of a tech park. For us, public infrastructure integration is both a civic duty and an operational necessity. By investing in the Bagmane DRDO Sports Complex Metro Station, building dedicated rail over-bridges, and creating internal flyovers, we are directly easing the 'last-mile' friction for our tenants' workforces," said Ashay Shah, chief financial officer, Bagmane Prime Office REIT.
With employee experience at the forefront of corporate agendas, the entire door-to-desk journey is now more important than ever. High employee attrition comes at a significant cost, prompting companies to look for ways to improve the workplace experience and retain talent.
“When you drastically reduce daily commute stress, you significantly improve employee well-being, productivity, and talent retention for global occupiers,” Shah added.
Earlier this year, the International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPB) in Whitefield opened the ITPB Metro Skywalk, a footbridge linking Pattandur Agrahara Metro Station (ITPB Station) directly to the office park, that serves over 55,000 professionals, and to Park Square Mall.
The project was a collaboration between CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT) and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) to improve last-mile connectivity in the Whitefield corridor.
“The objective was to improve last-mile connectivity and make public transport a convenient option for the thousands of people who commute to ITPB every day. We saw an opportunity to create a seamless connection between ITPB Station and the park, eliminating the need for commuters to navigate busy roads while improving safety, convenience and accessibility ,” said Gauri Shankar Nagabhushanam, chief executive officer (CEO), CLINT.
Property developer Prestige Group recently completed a 1.5-km flyover to ease travel between the heavily congested Outer Ring Road and Old Airport Road corridor, improving access to its tech parks near Bellandur. It will also build the Bellandur metro station, close to Prestige Lakeshore Drive, an upcoming 8 million sq ft campus.
Most park owners are working closely with the government authorities, privately funding these initiatives. While they benefit their park employees, most of these infrastructure projects are also open to public use.
“Public-private partnerships work beautifully globally. We are trying to enhance the door-to-desk experience for employees, and ensure that the infrastructure outside a park matches what is inside,” said Juggy Marwaha, CEO and executive director- offfice, Prestige Group.
Embassy REIT has spent ₹100 crore on the development of the Kadubeesanahalli Metro Station under an agreement with BMRCL. The metro station sits on the 17-km ORR metro corridor connecting Central Silk Board and K.R. Puram and will create mass transit connectivity for one of the city's largest employment clusters.
Before this, it invested ₹183 crore to build a 1-km-long flyover on ORR along Embassy Manyata Business Park, which caters to over over 100,000 employees. The flyover, however, was designed as public infrastructure. It has pedestrian and mobility infrastructure around the park and constructed pedestrian skywalks in a partnership model.
“Bengaluru’s continued success as a global technology and GCC hub depends not only on creating world-class workplaces, but also on improving the infrastructure that connects people to them,” said Amit Shetty, CEO, Embassy REIT.
India's office sector recorded 66.4 million sq ft of leasing in the January–September period of 2026, an 8% increase from a year earlier and the highest nine-month absorption on record, according to the latest data from property advisory CBRE. GCCs leased a record 28 million sq ft and accounted for 42% of overall leasing during this period.
"The biggest challenge in Bengaluru is commuting, and asset owners are taking various infrastructure initiatives to solve for that, wherever they can enhance the employee experience, they are doing so,” said Ram Chandnani, managing director, leasing services, India, CBRE.