Meter jammers geared up to pool cars, bikes

Soon after organisers of the Meter Jam campaign uploaded a carpooling tool on their website on Wednesday morning, registrations began pouring in.

Soon after organisers of the Meter Jam campaign uploaded a carpooling tool on their website on Wednesday morning, registrations began pouring in.

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More than 170 citizens had signed up their cars and bikes till 9 pm on Wednesday, offering to drop and pick up fellow jammers along certain routes on August 12, to help in the successful boycotting of taxis and autos for a day.

Between the carpoolers, most of the city and suburbs seem to be well covered, as rides are being offered along locations throughout the city.

However, commuters may face a difficulty in getting lifts in the evening, on their way home from work, since almost all carpoolers have volunteered their rides in the first half of the day, between 6 am and noon.

“The database of carpoolers was too big to complete proper background checks, so we have asked all jammers online to be very careful while sharing a ride with others,” said Abhilash Krishnan, one of the organisers of the campaign. “Safety is far more important than denying an auto.”

Prayas Kalani, a media professional who has volunteered his car from Malad (west) to Mahim (west) in the morning, has put up a Meter Jam sticker on his bumper to flaunt his solidarity to the boycott.

“I usually give lifts to stranded commuters during the monsoon, so I did not hesitate at all while signing up,” he said.

A large number of jammers are also fixing up carpools with their friends and colleagues through Facebook discussions.

Campaign organisers have also put up a mobile number to which jammers can SMS at the end of the day, reporting whether they participated successfully or not.