Travel operators seek relocation of toll plazas at Bengaluru entry points

Travel operators urge Bengaluru government to relocate toll plazas to ease financial burdens on daily commuters.

The Karnataka State Travel Operators’ Association (KSTOA) has urged the State government to reconsider the location of toll plazas at Bengaluru’s entry points, citing the increased financial burden on daily commuters.

In a letter addressed to Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar recently, the association said that residents of both Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts are being forced to pay toll even for short-distance daily travel into the city for work, education, healthcare and business. The expansion of the city’s limits under the Greater Bengaluru framework has resulted in several toll plazas being positioned within just 10 km of the city boundary, the association pointed out.

According to KSTOA, prevailing norms generally allow toll exemptions within a 20-km radius of urban areas. Collecting toll almost at the city’s entry points, therefore, raises concerns over equity and fairness.

KSTOA president K. Radhakrishna Holla said: “The Bengaluru region currently has 13 toll plazas spread across around 236 km of tolled highways, the highest concentration in Karnataka. In comparison, districts such as Belagavi, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, and Hassan have longer tolled highway stretches but significantly fewer toll plazas, leading to fewer toll payments for commuters there.”

He further said that the daily commuters to Bengaluru are already grappling with severe traffic congestion, rising fuel prices, and loss of productive time. Repeated toll payments further aggravate the financial strain on workers and middle-class families.

With the city’s geographical boundaries and administrative structure having changed, the association in the letter stated that the toll policies must be updated to reflect the new urban reality. It proposed relocating toll plazas farther away from the city limits to prevent commuters from being unfairly penalised simply for entering Bengaluru.