The Congress government in Karnataka on Saturday (30 September 2023) took a strange decision wherein anyone who is carpooling in Bengaluru will suffer a heavy fine from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 and the ruling Congress party has also mandated that passengers not take rides from any of the carpooling apps.
This unfortunate decision was taken after the government was held hostage by the taxi driver associations who are blaming carpooling services are affecting their daily earnings. As per the new law set forth by the transport department of Karnataka, any whiteboard vehicles for commercial commute purposes will be deemed as ‘illegal’, and said that a fine can be levied ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 if anyone is found operating the carpooling services.
This ban will impact many ride-hailing apps like BlaBla Car, Quickride, Rideshare, Commute Easy, and Carpool Adda and if commuters are forced not to use any of these apps, it will impact their business with a strong possibility of companies laying off employees. Also, affected will be the tens of thousands of IT professionals who use these services to commute to work from their homes and find this service stress-free.
Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has also mentioned that further steps regarding the banning of bike taxis will be considered after a legal assessment.
It is a fact that carpooling for a city like Bangalore where traffic is a major source of problems is the best way to reduce the number of vehicles on Bengaluru roads during peak hours.
Bengaluru has one of the highest traffic densities for any major city in the country and with a population of 11 million and growing, Bengaluru has close to 12.5 million vehicles, which means there are more vehicles per person living in the city.
As per a new report, Bengaluru has suffered a loss of ₹19,725 crore per year due to its traffic delays, congestion, stoppage of signals, time loss, fuel loss, and related factors
Taxi associations and auto-rickshaw drivers’ unions argue that carpooling services are adversely affecting their daily earnings.
However, auto-drivers themselves had blamed the free-bus ride scheme for women introduced by the Karnataka Congress government for fall in their business.
The Siddaramaiah government taking a leaf out of its ally DMK’s playbook in Tamil Nadu introduced the Shakti Scheme offering free bus rides for women from June 2023.
“My friends and I tirelessly campaigned for the Congress, going door-to-door to garner support. Our dedication led to our families voting for Congress. We proudly displayed their posters on our autos, believing in the promises they made. Little did we know that the consequences of our votes would come back to haunt us,” a disappointed auto driver was quoted saying in a report by Outlook.
An auto-driver from Majestic Bus Stand The Commune spoke to said that earlier he used to get frequent trips for short commutes to metro station but the free bus ride for women has drastically hit his business.
Some have also alleged another ulterior motive behind this decision of the government.
The Karnataka Congress government led by CM Siddaramaiah, has introduced a subsidy program for minority community members, offering them a ₹3 lakh subsidy towards the purchase of a four-wheeler vehicle of their choice.
The Karnataka budget unveiled in July 2023 by CM Siddaramaiah introduced three schemes, including the vehicle subsidy program “Swavalambi Sarathi,” for minority communities as well as SC/ST and backward classes.
Under the scheme, eligible individuals can purchase a four-wheeler valued at up to ₹8 lakhs, with the government providing a ₹3 lakh subsidy. Additionally, the government will facilitate bank loans for the remaining amount. This program had been in place during the previous Siddaramaiah regime but was removed by the BJP government. The former Bommai-led BJP government had a similar scheme for people from minority communities which provided a subsidy of ₹75,000 for the purchase of new goods and passenger auto rickshaws along with subsidies for the purchase of taxis. But this scheme later became inactive.
Rajesh, an IT professional from Whitefield who uses carpooling and sometimes bike taxi services for commuting to office alleged that votebank politics could also be a reason for the banning of car pooling.
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