Bengaluru Floats Congestion Tax Idea, Citizens Ask: Where’s the Public Transport?

Bengaluru’s never-ending traffic woes may soon invite a new penalty of sorts for its city dwellers. The Karnataka government is considering a “congestion tax” on single-occupancy cars, starting with the Outer Ring Road (ORR) - the city’s busiest tech corridor that sees lakhs of commuters daily.

The proposal was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh with industry leaders like Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Yulu co-founder R.K. Misra, and urban designer Naresh Narasimhan.

The idea is simple: if you drive alone into a high-density stretch such as ORR, you may have to pay a fee, likely deducted via FASTag. Cars with two or more occupants would be exempt, encouraging carpooling and fewer vehicles on the road.

But what sounds like a practical step in theory has run into sharp criticism online. “Congestion tax without good public transport is punishment, not policy,” entrepreneur T.V. Mohandas Pai posted, echoing what many citizens have been saying.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Pai questioned the government, “Please allow private bus operators to run public bus services in the city. We need over 15,000 buses, and BMTC has consistently failed. Why hurt citizens massively by blindly protecting this failed entity?”

Bengaluru’s Metro expansion is years behind schedule, the suburban rail project is crawling, and the city bus fleet has hardly kept pace with demand. Without reliable mass transit alternatives, people argue, such a levy could end up being just another burden.

The congestion tax is part of a 90-day action plan the state has announced to fix the basics: pothole repairs, garbage clearance, asphalting, and progress on stalled infrastructure. According to some reports, civic activist RK Misra, who also attended the meeting, explained that the plan will roll out in phases:

• October for road repairs

• November for a citizen-led cleanliness campaign

• December is for corporate participation, especially along ORR

He noted that strict quality checks, a contract management app to track work, and penalties for poor contractors have also been promised.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, a frequent critic of civic apathy, sounded cautiously optimistic after the meeting. Speaking to the media, she said the government has assured that citizens will see visible changes within three months. “Citizens must also support these efforts,” she stated, pointing to the need for both deterrents like congestion charges and quick-fix measures such as pothole filling, even as long-term solutions take shape.

Bengaluru is not the only state which has come with this idea. Last year around October, several reports stated that the Delhi government was also planning to introduce a congestion tax for vehicles entering the capital across 13 major border points. However, no major update on this plan has been reported since.

The broader worry remains: while London and Singapore use congestion pricing successfully, both cities have world-class public transport. Bengaluru, by contrast, is struggling with unfinished projects and battered roads. Until that gap is addressed, many residents fear the new levy will feel less like reform and more like another tax in a city already paying the price for poor planning.