 "Is carpooling banned in Bengaluru?")
Karnataka is making every effort to close the loophole for illegal transportation practices.
To do this, the transport department reportedly declared a ban on carpooling in Bengaluru on Saturday.
This sparked massive outrage among residents of Bengaluru, who constantly suffer due to overwhelming traffic in Silicon Valley.
The reports were, however, rejected on Monday by Karnataka transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, who labelled them as “false news.”
Here’s what exactly happened.
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The so-called ban
Carpooling is prohibited in Bengaluru, and offenders risk fines of up to Rs 10,000, according to media reports.
Through carpooling, multiple people can travel together in one vehicle, saving others from having to go by themselves. It was seen as an effective move to lower the number of vehicles on Bengaluru’s roads. Of all the main cities in the nation, the IT city has the highest level of traffic.
Several reports suggest the department made the decision after receiving numerous complaints from the cabs association. Officials from the department were quoted by India Today as saying that unregistered cars cannot be utilised as taxis.
According to a Times of India report citing officials, people who engage in carpooling via mobile applications run the risk of facing penalties ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 as well as repercussions that might include the suspension of the vehicle’s registration certificate (RC) for six months.
“Carpooling apps are violating rules by aggregating private cars that cannot be used for commercial purposes. We have been receiving complaints from unions of taxi drivers. RTOs have been directed to act against these illegal operations,” said the official.
Impact Shorts
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The complaints from transport associations
The restriction on carpooling was one of the demands made by the private transport associations in Bengaluru during their strike on 11 September. This came after carpooling initiatives were being promoted by the traffic police in Bengaluru to ease traffic in the area.
A video had taken over the internet showing cab drivers’ union members harassing Quick Ride riders at Nagawara’s Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru and decrying carpooling as illegal.
According to Clause 15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregators Guidelines 2020 issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, “In furtherance of the Central and state governments’ objectives to reduce traffic congestion and automobile pollution, and to effectively utilize assets, non-transport vehicle pooling may be provided by aggregators unless prohibited by the state government. The rationale for such prohibition shall be specified in writing and made accessible on the transport portal of the state government.”
Carpooling services in white-board cars are illegal, according to K Radhakrishna Holla, president of the Karnataka State Travel Owners Association, who spoke to Moneycontrol. He said a public service vehicle badge and the renewal of fitness certificates every two years are two requirements for yellow-board cars.
“In addition to this, there are high insurance costs, permit fees, and reduced resale value for yellow-board vehicles. If the government allows white-board vehicles for commercial purposes, taxi drivers should also be permitted to use them.”
The social media outrage
People have expressed concerns about rising traffic congestion on social media in talks regarding Bengaluru’s ban on carpool services.
Former Bengaluru city police commissioner Bhaskar Rao wrote about the problem on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
He said, “Who are these unwise mandarins advising the Government to ban carpooling and making it illegal. Universally, Carpooling is acknowledged as promoting fuel saving, friendliness, prevention of pollution etc. The Transport Department has enough offences to take action. People are universally smarter than the Government.. May wisdom prevail.”
On 2 October, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah received an open letter from BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya demanding the state government permit carpooling to relieve traffic in Bengaluru, according to Hindustan Times.
Surya wrote, “Ride-sharing and carpooling are seen as immediate and suitable remedies to ease the mobility crisis, especially for IT employees traveling to the same IT Park or area and returning home to the same locality after work. Ride-hailing apps like BlaBla Car, Quickride, Zoom, Rideshare, and others have been offering carpooling services where 3-4 persons share rides to the same workplace, area, or IT park.”
He emphasised the need for an update to the Motor Vehicles Act, describing the current one as “outdated” and prohibiting the use of light vehicles for commercial commutes.
“While it is the Government of Karnataka’s contention that private vehicles cannot be used for commercial purposes, it must also be remembered that the law needs to be amended as per the changing times. As far as carriage of persons in private or contract vehicles is concerned, the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, are outdated and are insufficient to meet the needs of the present day,” he added.
According to Moneycontrol, Tanveer Pasha, head of the Ola Uber Driver’s and Owner’s Association, opposed Surya’s letter and claimed that private users who participate in carpooling are impacting the livelihoods of drivers who are experiencing a decline in earnings following COVID-19.
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The government clarification
Transport minister Raamlinga Reddy refuted claims that the government had imposed a ban on Monday.
Speaking to Moneycontrol, Reddy said, “We haven’t banned carpooling in Bengaluru. For the past few days, there has been a buzz on social media claiming it has been banned. No official order or notification was issued. I’m meeting carpooling aggregators on 3 October.”
“How can we ban them when they are neither legal nor have applied for permission?” he asked, highlighting the fact that none of the carpooling apps had received government approval.
“The government believes that carpooling is an effective way to reduce congestion. For instance, friends, neighbours, or colleagues can carpool, but they are not allowed to do so through an app for commercial purposes. If they intend to use it for profit, they should apply for a licence and operate with yellow-board vehicles.” he added.
Taking to the microblogging site, Reddy also said, “Carpooling is not banned, it is false news. First, let them take permission. When they have not taken the permission where is the question of banning? Everyone should follow the rules and regulations. It is illegal to use non-commercial private vehicles with white number plates for carpooling purposes. Commercial Vehicles with yellow number plates, can be used for carpooling by following appropriate guidelines.”
The founder and CEO of the car-pooling service Quick Ride, KNM Rao, told Moneycontrol that they haven’t received any notice from the transportation ministry and that they will meet with the minister on 3 October.
According to a senior transport department official, misleading information has been spreading for a few days.
He said, “White-board vehicles are only for private use according to the Motor Vehicle rules. In fact, food or e-commerce delivery workers are not supposed to use white-board two-wheeler for commercial purposes as per rules. Many aggregators are operating bike-taxi services with white-board two-wheelers, which is also illegal. People are allowed to carpool with friends, colleagues, or others by creating a WhatsApp group, and there is no illegality in that.”
With inputs from agencies