Bengaluru traffic: ORR among roads identified for congestion tax; netizens ask for better roads, infra

Congestion tax in Bengaluru: Amid rising traffic problems in Bengaluru, an expert committee alongwith the Karnataka government has proposed to bring in a congestion tax in the city. A report titled “Karnataka’s Decade- Roadmap to a $1 Trillion Economy” has suggested that a congestion tax should be levied on all non-exempt vehicles entering Bengaluru during peak hours.

The aim behind imposing the congestion tax is to improve travelling times for buses, cars and delivery vehicles. The report stated that revenue collected via congestion tax could be reinvested into improving the city’s transport infrastructure, India Today reported. Among the roads identified for imposing congestion tax is Outer Ring Road, which witnessed a huge traffic jam last month leaving commuters stranded for several hours on end.

Other roads identified for the same are Sarjapur Road, Old Airport Road, Old Madras Road, Ballari Road, Bannerghatta Road, Kanakapura Road, Mysore Road, Tumakuru Road, and Hosur Road. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is mulling to utilise the FASTag system, which became operational in Bengaluru in 2021, to collect the proposed tax.

Soon after this news went viral, social media users were quick to share their takes on X formerly known as Twitter. A user, seemingly frustrated, asked the government as to how they could impose the congestion tax without getting the basics right such as filling craters on roads and increasing the number of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses on roads.

“What does Congress government want from us, leave our job and sit in protest on these roads? Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, Ramalinga Reddy, how can you impose a congestion tax without filling craters on the road, enough BMTC Bengaluru buses (10x more than the current fleet size), operational metro lines on these roads, dedicated bus lanes and cycling lanes on these roads, and removing choke points where roads drastically narrow and widening those choke points. Can the government provide these five guarantees before implementing the congestion tax?” a user asked.

"Comparing this with places like London and Singapore is foolish because they have much better infrastructure and public transit systems and a tax there at least makes some sense. First become like these cities," another user wrote.

Another user called the proposal to impose congestion tax in Bengaluru “laughable” and said that it cannot be implemented without a fully functional public transport system. “The proposal for congestion tax in Bengaluru is laughable because you can’t implement it without a fully functional multi modal public transport system and I literally know NO ONE in Bengaluru who just takes their vehicle out for a swing. Like no one drives here if not needed,” a user said.

“Already we do not get Ola Uber, now we are being penalized further with congestion tax, removed carpooling option and terrible pace of metro development. None of the autos use their meters. Do they want us to walk 5-15 kms to office?” another user asked.

“First companies force techies to work from office. Then Congress government bans carpooling and adds congestion tax! Bengaluru is doomed!” a user noted.

Last month, Bengaluru residents were stuck in traffic jams for several hours on the way to their offices or back home. Among the worst impacted routes were the Outer Ring Road (ORR), Marathahalli, Sarjapura, Mahadevapura, and Silkboard.

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