Two years on, carpooling norms yet to take shape in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: While the number of people using carpooling has increased since the bike taxi ban, the State Transport Department has not issued clear guidelines for their operations. The department, which announced a ban on car pooling in 2023 and then reverted, was supposed to come out with guidelines immediately, but nearly two years have passed, awaiting guidelines. It was in October 2023 that the department announced a ban on carpooling services that are offered through mobile apps. The rigid opposition to carpooling by several operators and by the auto and cab operators was one of the reasons for the government to take a stand against pooling. However, according to senior officials from the Transport Department, they mulled a ban on carpooling for safety reasons and that they cannot track the services and also that white-board personal vehicles without any authorisation were used. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy immediately announced that they have not imposed any ban on pooling, but that the department would come up with guidelines that service providers must follow. Post the ban on bike taxis by the Karnataka High Court recently, the demand for carpooling services has gone up as it is seen as the best available, cheapest alternative to bike taxis. The issue of carpooling was also recently taken up for discussion at the Karnataka Legislative Council, where BJP MLC DS Arun brought the issue to the attention of Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, arguing for proper legal guidelines to be framed and the carpooling services to be structured. Reddy said that there is no ban on carpooling. While there is no official data, according to the companies that provide carpooling services in Bengaluru, there are nearly 45,000 people who avail their services daily. Transport officials maintain that they were waiting for the aggregators guidelines from the Union Government and that they are working on the state guidelines, which would also define the carpooling service.