Bengaluru Traffic Police seeks legal framework for carpooling to ease congestion

The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) has formally proposed legalising carpooling in the city by framing long-pending rules and addressing legal grey areas. The move is aimed at easing the severe traffic congestion that plagues India's IT hub.

BTP officials held a meeting with the Transport Department last week, presenting the proposal and detailing its advantages. The proposal not only seeks rules for yellow-board vehicles (commercial) but also urges inclusion of white-board vehicles (private), which could serve the purpose more effectively. However, the Transport Department was reluctant to take immediate action, citing safety concerns, opposition from cab and autorickshaw aggregators, and a potential drop in the department’s revenue, according to sources.

Despite the reluctance, the BTP has sought the Transport Department’s views, and a high-level meeting at the ministerial level is likely before the Monsoon session, sources said. BTP sources suggested that if revenue loss is a concern, the department could develop its own application and levy a nominal charge, creating a win-win situation.

Currently, although there is no blanket ban on carpooling, grey areas in the existing framework allow transport officials to levy fines. Some aggregators offer carpooling through a coins-based system instead of direct payment, skirting the rules.

“If there are rules on fixed rates, registrations, operating routes, and timings, among other aspects, it will help the city a great deal. Stretches such as the Outer Ring Road (ORR), the CBD, and Mysore Road will benefit substantially from carpooling,” a senior traffic police officer told The Hindu.

The BTP’s internal audit, based on data from private aggregators, shows that before 2021, nearly 60,000 people benefited from carpooling. That number has now dropped to 25,000. The analysis predicts that more than 1.5 lakh people will use carpooling daily if it is fully legalised and widely publicised. “It is just an estimate, which could go even higher. This will keep thousands of cars and bikes off the roads, a huge boost for traffic decongestion,” the officer said.

Commuters have welcomed the move. Manu Sharma, a resident of Banashankari, regularly carpools to Bellandur through a non-commercial arrangement. He picks up friends from Jayanagar who work near Bellandur, and they share fuel costs. “It is very beneficial for us because we don’t have to rely on cabs or crowded buses. If the present hurdles are addressed, the system will pick up easily because it is very convenient,” he said.

Civic activist V. Ravichandar welcomed the move, stressing that it would allow better utilisation of existing assets by creating a system of quasi-public transport through indirect additions to the public transport fleet. “If the system is implemented with the backing of technology, safety concerns can be eliminated, and service timings can also be restricted to specific hours. It will definitely reduce the burden on city traffic,” he said.