Ride-sharing only way out of chaos: Drivers’ union

The government should make it mandatory for IT companies to hire buses for employees’ transportation, which will boost ridesharing and ease traffic congestion in Whitefield and Electronic City, taxi drivers have said.

The Indian Vehicle Drivers’ Union has appealed to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to address the issue.

“There are 6,500 IT-BT and IT-enabled companies in Bengaluru. Approximately 15 lakh people are employed in these companies,” said Gandasi Sadananda Swamy, president of the union. “While they are contributing to the economy, the city’s limited infrastructure is leading to traffic problems due to abnormal growth in number of vehicles. Ride-sharing is the only solution for the problem.”

The union also said that several IT companies had stopped “day trips” and instead were giving travel allowance to their employees. “Companies are giving Rs 5,000 transport charges (allowance) to employees, which is encouraging them to use own vehicles. Instead, they should embrace cost-effective solutions like hiring buses for a particular number of trips,” he said.

The drivers’ union said that congestion was directly affecting their revenue because of delayed trips, while the increasing amount of time spent on the road was affecting their health. The union has suggested that the government make it compulsory for companies to hire BMTC buses.

M R Kori, president of Whitefield Area Commerce and Industries Association, said the government should encourage IT firms to hire buses. “They should start by encouraging them and then make it compulsory. Ride-sharing is the best solution within the limited infrastructure,” he said.

“Though many know the problems, they may not be aware of the solutions. We will conduct a meeting with members of our group and start a discussion in this regard,” he said.