Carpooling can attract fine of up to ₹10,000 and suspension of vehicle’s registration certificate

Convenient and money saving travelling by carpooling can attract hefty fines in Bengaluru, as the Transport Department of Bengaluru is planning to take action against carpooling using mobile application platforms like Quick Ride, BlaBlaCar, etc. Those involved in carpooling using such applications can end up paying a hefty penalty of ₹5,000 to ₹10,000, reported Times of India.

The action has come as a response to local taxi drivers complaints regarding the use of private vehicle by commercial carpooling apps.  According to the Transport Department, private vehicles with a white registration plate for commercial purposes are illegal, according to Times of India.Moreover, their vehicle’s registration certificate can also get suspended for six months,  Additional Commissioner (Enforcement) of the Transport Department Malikarjun C told TOI.

The move has come in response to complaints filed by taxi drivers against carpooling apps who are aggregating private vehicles for commercial purposes, an act of violation of rules, another official told TOI.

A similar decision was taken by the Maharashtra government in January this year. At that time, the state government announced a ban on carpooling and bike-sharing applications which use non-transport vehicles. The state had also suspended Rapido-a bike-taxi service for the same reason in January.

Several app-based car and bike aggregators are also very popular in Mumbai. However, majority of those applications offer carpooling and bike-sharing services, RTO sources told Hindustan Times.

“These apps present various offers on rates and pricing which aren’t approved by the government authorities. Moreover, there is no control or monitoring done on the app-based operator, the riders and users of these services who use non-transport vehicles for the same,” an RTO officer told HT. This is the main reason why these applications are illegal. 

These applications invite other app users who are looking to travel on the same route at a specific time. Then all of them are offered to travel together in a non-transport vehicle.The fare is decided by the application and has been deducted from the account of the user, or the one who initiates to pay to the driver. 

Carpooling can be a viable solution for transportation in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. But usage of private vehicles can be detrimental for taxi drivers. These applications that use private vehicles for pooling, offer superficial benefits like how they reduce air pollution and sustainability. At the same time it is important to bring these applications on a level playing field to that of taxi drivers who require commercial vehicle licenses and other permits.