On Monday (2 October), Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy dismissed reports that the state government has imposed a ban on carpooling in the state and called it ‘false news’. He said that the government has not issued any such order but stakeholders will need to take permission to operate such carpooling services.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Reddy asserted that Commercial Vehicles with yellow number plates can be used for carpooling. He added that carpooling in non-commercial private vehicles with white number plates is illegal.
The Karnataka Transport Minister Reddy 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.”
ಕಾರ್ಪೂಲಿಂಗ್ ನಿಷೇಧಿಸಿಲ್ಲ, ಇದು ಸುಳ್ಳು ಸುದ್ದಿ.
— Ramalinga Reddy (@RLR_BTM) October 2, 2023
ಮೊದಲು ಅವರು ಸರ್ಕಾರದಿಂದ ಅನುಮತಿಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಿ. ಅವರು ಅನುಮತಿಯನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳದಿರುವಾಗ ನಿಷೇಧದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿದೆ?
ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬರೂ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ನಿಯಮಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ನಿಬಂಧನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸಬೇಕು.
ಬಿಳಿ ನಂಬರ್ ಪ್ಲೇಟ್ಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ವಾಣಿಜ್ಯೇತರ ಖಾಸಗಿ ವಾಹನಗಳನ್ನು…
Earlier, stating that carpooling affected their daily earnings, several taxi associations had complained against carpooling and submitted a demand to the state government to take action against them.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Reddy said, “According to the Motor Vehicles Act, it is illegal. Among the 32 demands of several transport unions, banning carpooling was also one. The argument is that whiteboard vehicles which are for private use are being used for commercial purposes. If they are using private vehicles for commercial purposes, then they will need to get permission.”
This comes a day after BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya wrote a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to revisit the rules of Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, and requested the government not to ban carpooling in the state.
In his open letter to the state CM, Tejasvi Surya asserted, “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 highlighted that the public transport infrastructure in Bengaluru is not able to cater to its population and reiterated that carpooling could be the solution to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
Notably, Carpooling is considered an effective step to reduce the number of vehicles on roads and limit pollution. Basically, it is an activity where several officer workers or acquaintances commuting to the same places regularly use one car for travelling purposes. Meanwhile, Bengaluru, the IT city has the highest traffic density for any major city in the country.
