Delhi residents plump for car pool as a viable option

New Delhi: The recent strike by the oil sector companies that made petrol and diesel scarce to the otherwise wheel-happy Delhi residents has been an eye-opener.

It has forced many to rethink about car pooling. With roughly 1,000 vehicles joining the Delhi traffic daily and its citizen's apparent aversion to public transport, car pooling is being considered a viable option and permanent solution to the increasing traffic jams in the city.

Brijesh Tiwari, owner of a printing press in Connaught Circus, said: "I had been commuting by my own car to and from Karol Bagh to Connaught Place for more than 25 years. And for the past one year I travelled by Metro Rail. But of late, Metro has become over-crowded and I have been forced to drive once again."

However, it took the strike and acute shortage of gas to make people like Tiwari realise the benefits of fuel efficiency.

He said, "A couple of my acquaintances asked me if they could ride with me in my car for a few days. That was when we decided to go for the car pool system. Now, four of us take our vehicles out of turn and have set up timings to suit all."

Ever since the strike, awareness regarding car pooling has increased. In fact, the two major websites www.indimoto.com and www.poolmycar.in initiated by Delhi-based Udit Bhandari and Vinay Arora, have seen a rise in new users not just in the capital but also across the country.

All users are required to provide their company name and employee code, which enables them to verify credentials from their companies.

But ultimately, the responsibility solely lies with the users and the two websites are mere facilitators.

Car pooling has not only proved economical, but is also comfortable as it takes less time to reach office for those who earlier travelled by chartered buses. Safety comes as an added bonus considering long drives in the night.

Swati Kapoor, who lives in Mayur Vihar, said: "Seeing the soaring crime cases, my parents were worried when I recently took up a job in Janak Puri, which is quite far.

"They were hesitant to let me use the family car and then approached the Resident's Welfare Association officials and found there were other boys and girls who commuted in the same direction.

"They consider it more secure for me now. Soon four of us shall be travelling together in my car."

Car pooling has been quite popular among parents of school-going children. A lot of parents have a weekly planner to drop kids to school and back home.

Although the general tendency of many parents is to travel by themselves, they seek car pool facility for their children.

Sakshi Gulati, a Class 10 student of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan said, "We are having our pre-board examinations and since we have to go to school only twice a week, my father arranged with other parents to begin car pooling."