Horse-Drawn Carriage Ban: What Kolkata's E-Carriage Plan Means

Is Kolkata banning horse-drawn carriages?

Not yet. There's no horse-drawn carriage ban in Kolkata right now, but the state government has proposed a pilot to replace the tourist carriages around Victoria Memorial and the Maidan with battery-powered, heritage-style e-carriages.

According to UNI, West Bengal urban development minister Agnimitra Paul raised the idea in early October 2026. She brought it up at a meeting with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Kolkata Police, PETA India, the CAPE Foundation and the carriage owners' association. She said the goals were animal welfare and no lost income for the people who run the carriages.

Here's what has been reported so far:

• The fleet: Times of India reports 58 registered horses and 29 licensed carriages.
• The pilot: Times of India reports a winter trial with five e-carriages on the same Victoria Memorial circuit.
• The pushback: Times of India reports that owners say they would oppose any phase-out, and some doubt tourists will want an electric ride.
• Still unknown: No budget, start date or final decision has been announced.

Why the Victoria Memorial horse carriage is under pressure

This debate didn't start this month. In 2022, PETA India and the CAPE Foundation said that after examining the city's carriage horses, they found 81% were thin or very thin. PETA India also said more than 100 horses were anaemic or malnourished, and that some had wounds or fractures.

Those are the welfare groups' own findings, not an official audit. PETA India also said e-carriages had already replaced horse-drawn carriages in Mumbai and given drivers work.

The Calcutta High Court has also been involved. In April 2022 it ordered vet care for the horses and allowed the welfare groups to provide that care through the state. That led to health camps run with the state's animal resources department, which the owners boycotted. The state said it was drafting a policy that would cover both the horses' welfare and the owners' livelihoods.

Why cities restrict carriage horses

Almost every carriage debate, from Kolkata to Cartagena to New York, comes back to the same five issues.

Heat

A horse pulling a carriage builds up a lot of body heat. On hot pavement in tropical cities, that heat is hard to shed, and a tired horse can overheat or collapse. That's why many cities that allow carriages still pull horses off the street when it gets too hot.

Traffic

Horses are prey animals and can spook at horns, buses and sirens. A spooked horse in a busy street can hurt itself, its passengers, its driver and bystanders.

Working hours

Long shifts with few breaks wear horses down. Good rules cap daily hours and require rest, food and water at set intervals.

Welfare inspections

Welfare depends on enforcement. Regular vet exams, farrier work and stable checks only help if someone actually carries them out.

Livelihoods and heritage

On the other side, drivers' families often depend on these carriages, sometimes for generations. Many drivers say they care for their horses and feel blamed for problems they didn't cause. They also worry tourists won't pay for an electric ride. Carriages are part of a city's identity too, and that's why the e-carriage idea is to keep the vintage look.

How other cities handled it

Kolkata wouldn't be the first city to try this. The results have been mixed.

Cartagena: the clean break

Cartagena banned horse-drawn coaches from its walled city and authorized up to 62 city-owned electric carriages. The coachmen's association said it hadn't been properly included in the decisions, and some members took legal action.

The city says the coachmen now work the tourist route with electric carriages. Cartagena also challenged the national law that exempted tourist carriages from Colombia's phase-out of animal-drawn vehicles. In September 2026, the Constitutional Court struck down that exemption in ruling C-310 of 2026. The ruling takes effect six months after notification, and local authorities must use that time to start replacement and job-transition programs.

Mérida: the cautionary tale

Mérida's six Chinese-made electric calesas cost close to 485,000 pesos each. According to Diario de Yucatán, by mid-2025 four were parked with faults and short battery life, and only about two still ran part-time.

Horse-drawn calesas still work the Centro and Paseo de Montejo. The city responded with rules to protect them from extreme heat: horses on the historic center routes can't work before 4 p.m., and vets from the state university (UADY) are supposed to check them periodically.

Guadalajara: calandrias go electric

In March 2024, Guadalajara counted 55 calandrias downtown: 16 electric and 39 horse-drawn. The city set July 31, 2024 as the deadline to end horse-drawn rides there. That deadline slipped. In February 2025, Crónica reported that most calandrias were still horse-drawn, and the mayor said there could be progress in about a month. In late March 2025, Mayor Verónica Delgadillo handed over 31 new electric calandrias, bringing the electric fleet to 47. According to the Guadalajara Reporter, eight horse-drawn calandrias were still working downtown, and the mayor said the city couldn't force their owners to switch.

The city said horses given to the municipality would go to the Bosque Los Colomos stables to work in a therapy program for children with disabilities.

New York: the never-ending fight

New York's carriages around Central Park have been fought over for more than a decade. A teenage passenger died after a carriage horse spooked in June 2026. After that, City Council Speaker Julie Menin backed a bill to phase out the industry by June 1, 2028. Mayor Zohran Mamdani supports ending the industry, but he has said the bill needs stronger protections for carriage workers.

The drivers' union, TWU Local 100, opposes a ban and supports a rival safety bill. By September, the Council said it expected to vote in October, but no vote had happened as of this writing.

What happens to the horses after a ban?

This is the question that matters most to horse people, and the answer depends on planning.

• Retirement with owners: Many drivers keep their horses. When Mérida's e-calesas launched in 2022, one driver told reporters he'd retire his horses at home rather than sell them. In Guadalajara, some calandria drivers also said they'd keep theirs.
• Adoption programs: Cartagena says its environmental agency (Umata) checked over its horses, had vets treat them, screened adopters and visited their homes. It plans follow-up visits every six months.
• New jobs: Guadalajara planned to move donated horses into therapy work.
• The risk: Without a funded plan, horses can be sold off cheaply and disappear from view.

Adopting a former carriage horse? Many are sensible, traffic-proof veterans, but most need time off, dental and hoof work, and a slow change in feed. Ask your vet to check the horse before and after it comes home. Our guide to how to adopt a horse covers fees and real costs. For another example of a mass rehoming, see what happened after Hawthorne closed.

Carriage horse welfare: a tourist's checklist

Wherever you travel, you can judge a carriage horse in about 30 seconds. New York's health department rules are a useful benchmark, with no work at 90°F (32°C) or above and at least 15 minutes of rest for every two hours worked.

• Shade: Is the horse waiting in shade, or standing in full sun on hot pavement?
• Water: Is there a bucket nearby, and does the horse get offered a drink?
• Body condition: Ribs faintly felt but not jutting out, and no sharp hip bones. Learn the 1-9 scale in our body condition score guide.
• Rest breaks: Does the horse get downtime between rides, or loop nonstop?
• Sound hooves: Even, trimmed hooves and a steady, even walk. Head-bobbing or short steps can mean pain.
• Tack and skin: No sores where the harness or bit rubs, and no open wounds.
• Behavior: Alert ears and a relaxed stance are good signs. A drooping head with heavy, fast breathing on a cool day is a red flag.

If a horse looks in distress, don't argue with the driver. Note the location, time and carriage number and report it to local authorities or a welfare group. For more on reading horses, see our behavior basics and health basics.

What to watch next

• Kolkata's pilot: Watch for a start date, who drives the e-carriages, and whether owners get a stake or training.
• The horses: Watch whether a funded retirement or adoption plan covers all 58 registered horses.
• New York's vote: The Council has said it expects to vote this month. If it passes, the industry would wind down by June 1, 2028.
• Colombia: Watch how cities beyond Cartagena use the six months before the Constitutional Court ruling takes effect.

The pattern so far is that a ban only goes well when the e-carriages actually work, drivers keep an income and every horse has somewhere safe to go.