Why Bengaluru should look east

Bengaluru and Kolkata have many similarities when it comes to road infrastructure and traffic congestion.

In 2024, Kolkata was ranked the second-most congested city in the world by TomTom, a Dutch location and mapping technology company. Bengaluru was third.

Average travel time per 10 km in Bengaluru was 34 minutes and 10 seconds.

The city lost 117 hours during rush hours. In Kolkata, average travel time per 10 km was 34 minutes and 33 seconds, with its rush-hour losses at 110 hours.

Both cities are notorious for narrow roads and high vehicle density. Bengaluru has more cars than any other city in India. Kolkata has more vehicles per kilometre than any other Indian city. The similarities are striking, but they end there.

Despite their similar mobility problems, the two cities appear to be taking two diametrically opposite approaches to tackle traffic congestion. 

To move its people faster, a chronically gridlocked city should be giving them more options, not fewer. Kolkata seems to be doing just that. 

Besides boasting India’s largest suburban railway network and the oldest (and fast-expanding) metro, Kolkata has the iconic yellow taxis, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws, numerous ride apps — and yes, bike taxis. It also has relatively better roads, well-maintained flyovers and decent street lighting.

Bengaluru, in contrast, is giving its residents fewer mobility options. Its metro network is taking forever to expand, the ambitious suburban railway project has stalled, BMTC bus services are unreliable during peak hours, roads are riddled with potholes, e-rickshaws were never available and bike taxis are no longer legal.

What struck this writer the most during a recent visit to Kolkata was the sheer ubiquity of bike taxis. Just as Bengaluru banned online bike taxis on June 16, it was surprising to see that in Kolkata, you can hail one right off the street — much like how you would hail an auto in Bengaluru (if you’re lucky, that is).

As my friend and I wandered through Esplanade, Maidan, Park Street and Rabindra Sarani, bike taxi drivers regularly approached us, politely asking if we needed a ride. While street hailing of bike taxis has its downsides — arbitrary fares, safety concerns, etc. — it still gives passengers a choice.

West Bengal’s Transport Department framed rules for bike taxis as early as in 2016, mandating contract carriage permits and regulating the sector.

Karnataka, on the other hand, has argued that the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988, doesn’t permit the use of personal two-wheelers (whiteboard registration) as transport vehicles. It even scrapped the Electric Bike Taxi Scheme 2021, citing its misuse. A single bench of the high court agreed last April, ruling that unless the state notifies guidelines under Section 93 of the
Motor Vehicles Act and rules thereunder, ride apps cannot operate bike taxi services.

After the favourable verdict, Karnataka’s Transport Department has doubled down on the ban. It has flatly refused to frame any guidelines — ostensibly under pressure from auto drivers — and is justifying its decision in the high court, which is currently hearing appeals against the ban. 

In the meanwhile, citizens have been left at the mercy of auto drivers — both offline and online. Auto drivers on the street routinely demand exorbitant fares (up to Rs 500 for 10 km) as the government hasn’t revised official rates since November 2021. Online aggregators ignore another high court order that capped fares and outlawed surge pricing. Lakhs of bike taxi drivers have lost their livelihoods. Traffic jams have worsened. 

Karnataka has a golden opportunity to set this right. On July 1, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) released the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, specifying that “state governments may allow the aggregation of motorcycles for journeys by passengers through shared mobility” and impose relevant fees. 

The state can no longer hide behind a regulatory vacuum. 

No argument for banning bike taxis outweighs the urgent need to solve Bengaluru’s mobility crisis. And no appeasement of auto drivers should block solutions to the last-mile problem.

Karnataka should also consider allowing e-rickshaws, which can be well-suited to Bengaluru’s narrow streets and ideal for last-mile connectivity from metro and bus stations. More importantly, the government must fast-track the construction of metro and suburban railway projects and expand the BMTC fleet. 

It’s time Bengaluru looked east and took a leaf or two out of Kolkata’s book.