The Karnataka government on Saturday announced that carpooling in Bengaluru is banned and advised passengers not to take rides from the carpooling apps. The decision is said to be taken after the government received complaints from taxi driver associations.
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The transport department of Karnataka termed using whiteboard vehicles for commercial commute purposes 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. Ride-hailing apps like BlaBla Car, Quickride, Rideshare, Commute Easy, and Carpool Adda have been running carpool services for those who want to share their ride with others for a certain amount of money.
Carpooling used to be considered as one of the factors to reduce the number of vehicles on Bengaluru roads during peak hours and many IT employees use these services to commute to work from their homes. However, the taxi associations said that the carpooling services are affecting their daily earnings and submitted a demand to the government to take action against them. The taxi associations and the autorickshaw drivers’ union recently conducted a Bengaluru bandh and submitted a list of demands to Karnataka transport minister Ramalinga Reddy. Banning bike taxis is another major demand of the autorickshaw drivers and the minister said that it will be considered after going through the legal possibilities.
Bengaluru has the highest traffic density for any major city in the country. A city with a population of 11 million, Bengaluru has close to 12.5 million vehicles, which means a vehicle for every person living in the city.
The recent traffic gridlock has left many commuters on roads for hours on Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road, which houses many IT parks and global investments. Bengaluru traffic police are already planning to take measures to reduce the frequent congestion on the ORR stretch.
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