JOIN USCarpooling catches on, all thanks to odd-even
Arvind Kejriwal government’s odd-even experiment has encouraged carpooling among Delhiites. The 15-day trial, starting from January 1, has also seen emergence of online cab-share start-ups and companies promoting carpooling.
App-based taxi-hailing companies like Uber, Ola and Meru have launched carpooling service, while new ridesharing platforms like BlaBlaCar have shot to prominence.
BlaBlaCar, a French start-up, connects car owners and co-travellers to travel together on city-to-city journeys and share the cost of journey.
Posters of home-grown rideshare start-ups have also started to crawl up the notice boards of multinational firms in Noida and Gurgaon. Orahi, a carpool app, claims over 30,000 verified corporate members.
“Travel to Cyber City/Udyog Vihar in ₹45 only, +2 rides free every week,” an ad posted by the company says.
According to the company, several companies in Gurgaon are encouraging rideshare.
Carpooling has also emerged as a fad after rollout of the odd-even rationing of road space in Delhi.
“I have started to carpool with neighbours working around my office in Noida. I believe that by saving petrol, I am doing my bit for the environment,” Kamal Yadav, a Mayur Vihar resident, told Deccan Herald.
“I tried sharing my cab ride with another family,” said Mohammed Sirtaz, a Janakpuri resident, adding that Rideshare experiment worked out well for them.
Keeping in mind the Delhi government’s odd-even rule, taxi aggregator Ola is running shuttle service from Metro stations to office complexes. As part of its promotion initiative, the company gave first two shuttle rides free to customers.
The company has also launched a social ridesharing service to allow customers to travel with members of social group – be it colleagues from a workplace or friends from college.
Uber also launched its carpooling service ahead of the odd-even drive, with a claim that “people in Delhi spend 90 minutes to and from work each day”. “Getting more butts into fewer cars is an important step towards reducing congestion and pollution in the capital over time,” a statement issued by company had said.
Carpooling was proposed as one of the options before people during the drastic car curbs.