Have you joined a car pool yet?
Everybody knows car-pooling has a future. But going by the response to a new corporate car-pooling service, it also seems to have a bright present, reports Nivedita Khandekar.
Everybody knows car-pooling has a future. But going by the response to a new corporate car-pooling service, it also seems to have a bright present.
In the first month of its launch, www.poolmycar.in — India's first free countrywide corporate carpooling service — already has more than 350 registered users in the NCR.
With roughly 1,000 vehicles joining the Delhi traffic every day, and commuters remaining reluctant to use public transport, pooling cars is really the way to go.
In the past, many car-pooling services have been floated without success, mainly due to security concerns amongst users. However, Pool My Car has successfully addressed this issue.
Vinay Arora, Deputy Manager (IT) with Hindustan Times, who started the service, explains that all their users are required to provide their company name and employee code. This enables users to verify each other's credentials from the respective HR departments.
"The responsibility solely lies with the users — we are just facilitators," says Arora.
Rakesh Garg, who recently shifted to Delhi from Chandigarh, says he found the website during an online search. "I stay in Janakpuri and work in NOIDA. It used to take me more than two hours to reach my office by bus," he says.
Soon after he registered on the website, Garg was able to join three people in a car pool to Noida. The journey, he says, "is not only economical but also comfortable and takes less time." Having three new car pool friends is, of course, an added bonus.
The website also lists car pool etiquette and the benefits of pooling, amongst other things. "As and when more people pool vehicles, the number of cars on our roads as well as the pollution and congestion will reduce," says Arora.