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Why Indian commuters don't carpool despite heavy traffic
Traffic police report says 150,000 Bengaluru residents would opt to carpool if it was legalised
- PUBLISHED: Tue 28 Jul 2026, 5:05 PM
Rising fuel costs and massive traffic snarls in major Indian cities are driving the carpool business. However, the segment does not feature as a distinct category in the country’s Motor Vehicles Act, making it a grey area of operation.
In Bengaluru, the country’s IT capital, government departments seem to have differing stances on carpooling.
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The Bengaluru traffic police is keen on legalising carpooling in the city, but the transport department is worried about opposition, especially from the powerful lobby of autorickshaw and taxi operators and aggregators, who have enormous clout with politicians and officials.
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An internal traffic police report, cited by the media, said the number of people carpooling has fallen from 60,000 in 2021 to a mere 25,000 at present. The report added that 150,000 Bengaluru residents would opt to carpool if it was legalised.
This would decongest city roads and speed up movement for hundreds of thousands of commuters, many of who have to spend several hours a day in massive traffic snarls.
Need for clear guidelines
K.N.M. Rao, founder and CEO of Quick Ride, which offers carpooling as well as taxi services, told the media that many large corporates in Bengaluru are now discouraging the sector. “There is a big grey area which the government is yet to address, and this is impacting our business every day,” he said. “There is a public perception that carpooling is illegal, which is not the case. Companies which earlier promoted carpooling among their employees have pulled back. They ask us to share government documents, which are not available.”
According to Rao, carpooling is the best solution to tackle Bengaluru’s traffic problems. Government officials in Karnataka say the central government should give clear guidelines on carpooling; in its absence, it will continue to remain a grey area.
Some success
However, BlaBlaCar, the French mobility platform, has seen remarkable growth in the country, especially after the petroleum crisis triggered by the US-Iran war. India has emerged as the largest market globally for the ridesharing platform, with 20 million users. The number of passengers has shot up by a hefty 40 per cent after the outbreak of the February 28 war.
Benjamin Retourne, the product director of BlaBlaCar, was quoted in Indian media stating that people in the country are well connected, especially with widespread 5G telecom coverage. “This is a recipe for carpooling to take-off in the country,” he said.
