The Bengal government has moved to rein in the disorderly surge of Toto operators, rolling out strict new guidelines for these e-rickshaws under the legal framework of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Under the new policy, Totos will no longer be free to overload passengers or dart across the city unchecked. Instead, they will be restricted to designated routes, barred from highways, and required to pay an annual tax, marking the first major step to bring the sector under formal regulation.
The decision was finalised at a high-level meeting among the transport department, district officials, municipal councils, the police and representatives of Toto operator organisations at Nabanna last week.
The guidelines, issued through an 11-page notification, make clear that Totos will not be allowed to ply on national or state highways under any circumstances. The discussions hammered out rules covering route fixation, mandatory registration at the district level, vehicle enumeration and a ban on multiple registrations under one name.
A state government official said: “Our main goals are passenger safety, avoiding traffic jams and increasing revenue income for the state. We are hopeful that once the new policy comes into effect, order will be restored on the road without creating chaos on busy urban roads.”
Another official said: “Safety remains a top priority. Illegal three-wheelers have created jams, delayed freight and contributed to fatalities. This time, strict instructions have been given—such vehicles will not be allowed on highways.”
Municipalities and panchayat unions will now determine specific routes in consultation with unions, and in high-density areas, vehicles will run on a rotation basis to prevent overcrowding. Each Toto will be assigned a QR-coded number plate, enabling officials to instantly check whether a vehicle is operating outside its designated route, an official of the state transport department said.
“We have told the district administration to finalise the issues at the earliest in consultation with toto operators, police and other stakeholders”, an official of the transport department said.
The directive also introduces mandatory annual tax collection from toto operators, adding a new revenue stream for the state. According to officials, most of the vehicles currently on the road are unregistered, and the documentation drive will help enforce passenger capacity limits, preventing overloading and accidents.
The government has further announced a phased plan to replace existing vehicles with eco-friendlier e-rickshaws. Officials acknowledged that most totos have a short lifespan of two to three years and assured operators they would be given time to switch during replacements. “It’s about sustainable change,” an official said.
Authorities admitted that earlier guidelines prohibiting three-wheelers from highways had little effect, with illegal vehicles still seen clogging arterial roads, slowing goods transport, delaying ambulances, and causing accidents.
Many district-level police personnel, however, raised doubts about the proper implementation of regulations in the absence of sufficient monitoring personnel. “Managing errant Toto operators will be a tough task otherwise. They’d hardly obey and eventually the police would give up under political pressure,” said a source.
The leader of an INTTUC-affiliated Toto operators’ union in Nadia said that if Totos went off highways, it would create an economic crisis for Toto drivers since there were too few passengers on rural or interior routes.