Bengaluru carpool ban irks residents, experts divided

The move comes amid complaints from taxi and auto associations to stop the operations of carpooling apps, which they claim are operating illegally.

The Karnataka transport department on Saturday announced a ban on the app-based carpooling services in Bengaluru, following persistent complaints being raised by cab operators. While citizens are voicing their opinions against the move, claiming it reduces transport cost and helps combat traffic congestion, the development has elicited mixed reactions from experts.

The outer ring road in Bengaluru suffered traffic snarls on September 25. (Mahadevapura Task Force/Twitter)

The transport department argues that carpooling apps such as Quick Ride, BlaBla Car, Zoom and Rideshare are “illegal” as they use personal vehicles, bearing white number plates, for commercial purpose. It has cited the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, for its decision, which allows only vehicles with yellow number plates for commercial purposes.

The department has also directed officials in several areas across the city to initiate legal measures if anyone is found flouting the norms. In case of violation, the department said, drivers may face a six-month suspension of their registration certificate (RC) and a penalty ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000.

The move comes amid complaints from taxi and auto associations to stop the operations of carpooling apps, which they claim are operating illegally, and affecting their business. But with less than a week after the state capital suffered a massive traffic gridlock on its tech corridor - the Outer Ring Road (ORR), the department’s order has not gone down well with the citizens.

Through the state transport minister Ramlinga Reddy on Monday clarified that there is no ban on carpooling, but said that the apps must obtain necessary permissions to operate legally, citizens took to X to condemn the move. “We have not banned [carpooling]. This is false news. First, let them take permission. They have not taken permission, where is the question of banning?” Reddy said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Tejasvi Surya also urged chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, to reconsider the decision in the interest of improving the traffic situation in Bengaluru. “Carpooling can get private vehicles off the road and bring ease during peak hour commute. Vehicular population has increased by 6,000% since 1990, making Bengaluru, a city with highest vehicle density that commutes at 15kmph. A ban on car-pooling only encourages congestion, the last thing people of Bengaluru would want to experience,” he wrote on X, urging the transport department to reconsider the ban.

“Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 are outdated & insufficient to meet the needs of present day. Penalising citing rules will only add to the mobility crisis in the city. Karnataka govt should prioritise ‘Quality of Life’ over outdated rules & encourage innovation among ridesharing apps to decongest the city,” Surya added.

The order and the uproar from the citizens, has however, elicited mixed response from experts. Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, WRI (World Resources Institute) India, emphasised that the definition of carpooling needs to be understood, adding that the issue is more nuanced than it seems.

“Apps have been created to find carpool mates. Here, it’s a business that is finding partners and there is exchange of money involved. It’s much different than people pooling in one car and reducing traffic. But the problem is with the white-board and the yellow-board cars, where there is a difference in the commercial tax involved. So, there are some gaps in understanding the issue,” Alavilli said.

“The definition of carpooling needs to be understood. It’s a bit more nuanced and we need to understand what the carpooling apps are doing, and if it affecting the livelihood of cabs and taxis. I think carpooling is healthy and it’s something to be encouraged. But at the same time, the interest of those who depend on driving cabs should be protected,” Alavilli added.

Transport expert Vinoba Isaac, said that carpooling in any form is good for the city, and should be encouraged. “The argument is, who should be the benefactor? Should it be the taxi drivers and other competitors or the city? As a transport planner, I would say, the city. The competition has to be taken square and fair by everybody. When new things come in, old things have to adapt,” Isaac said.

“Carpooling in any form is very good. Every other country encourages it. In most countries, there is a toll-free lane, which can be used by High Occupancy Vehicles [HOV]. If the car can carry more people, you are offered great benefits. But, if you are a single driver, you don’t get the same benefits,” Isaac said.

“I’m looking at the move only from the view point of city transportation and commute. From this angle, I feel that any form of carpooling should be encouraged as much as possible, and people with individual cars should be slowly discouraged, and pushed out,” he said.

Considering the demand in Bengaluru, Isaac said, the cab drivers would not lose out completely even if some people choose carpooling options. “The city must have roughly around 25,000 cabs. These might take three or four trips per day, which means, the cabs take 1 lakh trips for a single day. Whereas, people availing cab services in Bengaluru take more than acrore trips in a day. For the total demand we are looking at, it doesn’t make much of a difference with carpooling.”