JOIN USCarpooling to ease congestion
In an attempt to offer a solution to the increasing traffic congestion in the City, the Bangalore City traffic police will soon start a campaign in support of carpooling. But how practical is it and will those employed in IT parks consider carpooling as an option?
Metrolife interacts with traffic police and those working in different IT parks across the City to understand whether carpooling would really work. Additional commissioner of police (traffic) M A Saleem says the carpooling plan is targeted at single occupancy cars (one person in a car). “We are looking at developing a software that will match the residence to the place of work. Through this, we could track people living and working around the same area. We will tie up with cab services to get the carpooling started. We will start with IT parks and gradually cover the entire City,” he explains.
According to Saleem’s survey of traffic in the City, the maximum congestion is around IT parks during the peak hours. During the peak hours, there are 45,000 cars entering and leaving ITPL, Manyata Tech Park has 22,000 cars, the Embassy Golf Links has 15,000 to 16,000 cars and Electronic City tops the list with 60,000 cars. “Carpooling will reduce at least 15 per cent of the cars on the roads,” adds Saleem.
Those who work in various IT parks across the City agree that massive traffic clogs on the roads and in front of their offices in the peak hours are problem that remains unsolved. They say that if car pooling is successfully implemented, it will not only ease a lot of congestion but help in reducing pollution level as well.
Mansoor, an employee of Target Group, Manyata Tech Park thinks carpooling will work well. “It saves time, money, fuel and reduces pollution. I think it is fun to travel with your colleagues to and from work and carpooling also ensures safety of women,” reasons Mansoor.
Carpooling maybe just one of the many options for reducing congestion on the roads, feels Farah Ahmed, who works at RMZ Infinity on Old Madras Road, “If carpooling really works , it will help in the reduction of fuel costs and pollution levels,” she says.
Harish Alagesan with Wipro Technologies in Electronic City, observes that there are too many cars driving in and out of the parking lot at his workplace, which not only causes traffic jam within the premises but also on the roads.
“If implemented with all earnestness, carpooling is a great solution. But, I for one, don’t want to be part of carpooling because I would have to depend on another person’s convenience to travel to work and his or her delay would directly affect my work too,” reasons Harish.
Shifaz Ashraf, who works with Oracle India Pvt Ltd, IBC Knowledge Park on Bannerghatta Road, too has his reservations on the practicality of carpooling. “It’s a great idea to reduce the traffic on roads but it’s workable only when people staying in the same location travel together and it may not work for people who live in different directions,” says Shifaz. He adds, “Sometimes, people may have their own appointments before or after work. Then, it becomes a hassle,” he avers.