Bengaluru residents slam ‘auto mafia’, carpool ban as city mulls congestion tax

A proposed congestion tax in traffic-choked Bengaluru has raised the hackles of residents who say that congestion is a foregone conclusion in a city with limited public transport, restrictions on carpooling, dug up roads and other infrastructural problems. The congestion tax has been proposed by an expert committee in collaboration with the Karnataka government.

According to India Today, the report, titled ‘Karnataka's Decade - Roadmap to a $1 Trillion Economy’, has recommended imposing a congestion tax on all non-exempt vehicles entering the city during peak hours. Nine potential entry points for this purpose have been identified in the report, including Outer Ring Road which last month witnessed a massive traffic jam where commuters were stuck for over four hours.

The report suggested that revenue generated from the congestion tax could be reinvested to improve the city’s transport infrastructure.

While many experts spoke to different media houses in favour of the tax, the opinion of Bengaluru residents on social media was overwhelmingly different. Many said that the government should work to provide basic amenities like proper roads and a good public transport network before imposing a congestion tax on citizens.

Singapore has brilliant public transport..same does London..get that done first before taxing personal transport

— Sathish (@sathishpgw) October 3, 2023

Wow! Mindblown with their out-of-box thinking.

If we can't provide them better infra, let's start taxing them on creating congestion.

Quick question: Congestion comes in which GST tax slab?

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— Amrish (@CodenameBazinga) October 4, 2023

Increase Public transport - No
Stop heavy construction vehicles during peak hour - No
Stop Water Tankers during peak hours - No
Speedup metro construction - No
Potholes free roads - No

Just to get the funds for the promised free schemes, such taxes are implemented.

— Ashish (@Ashish_Rajput89) October 3, 2023

Many also pointed to the city’s restrictions on carpooling and its ‘mafia’ auto union. The lack of a proper public transport network in the city also came under fire.

Limited metro
Highly unreliable buses
Carpooling banned
Bike taxis banned
Mafia autos
Dug up streets
Eternally unfinished flyovers
Limited wide roads
Shit road to road connections
Extremely few pedestrian crossings/bridges
Slow & bad metro planning
Regular water logging

But… https://t.co/FUYdQgNySs

— Vivek Raju (@vivekraju93) October 3, 2023

this is laughable. Might as well collect congestion tax for all of Bangalore!

New way to increase revenues of state without any cost to state.

Logically congestion tax shd be levied only if alternate means of transport are available & abundant.

This will end up in courts.

— Shriram Subramanian (@reachShriram) October 3, 2023

BJP leader Tejasvi Surya was among those who criticised the proposed tax. “The state government of Karnataka is contemplating on one hand to levy a congestion tax in Bengaluru and on the other hand is contemplating banning of carpooling. This is ironical. This is 'tughlaq sarkar' in its definition. My demand with the chief minister and transport minister is to first understand the difference between what carpooling and what ride splitting is,” he said.