Techies hop on carpool wagon, help keep 1,500 vehicles off roads

BENGALURU: There was a time when Keerthi Deshpande, a techie from Girinagar, spent tense moments behind the wheel, negotiating bumper-to-bumper traffic and fighting reckless motorists on the way to her workplace in Mahadevapura. Her life changed for the better and commuting became hasslefree after she joined a carpooling initiative by the Bengaluru traffic police.
“I read on my way to and from office, listen to music or just chill. The headache of driving and negotiating endless traffic jams is just off my back. Once in a week or so, I do take out my vehicle when it is my turn. But the burden is never so onerous now,“ says Keerthi.
Keerthi is among the 2,965 employees from various IT companies in southeast Bengaluru who have opted for carpooling, which was launched on October 21.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic) MA Saleem had met representatives from 40 IT companies and requested them to push for carpooling.
The initiative has already resulted in at least 1,500 cars staying off the roads. Traffic police are looking at reducing 50,000 vehicles in six months, and going by the response, they are confident of hitting the target. In the pilot project, police are mainly focusing on south Bengaluru where most of the IT-BT employees stay, and the southeast parts where their workplaces are located.
“The response is encouraging. We are planning to conduct more meetings with private and public employees to seek their participation,“ said Saleem.
Many apps in use:
Till date, six apps are being used for the purpose. Employees needn't pay money, instead, they should bring their car when their turn comes.
“We aim for security and punctuality. The carpooling participant should send a request which will be accepted by the group. Based on the location, company and timing, partners are selected,“ said Srinath Sudars han, founder of `Let's drive along' app.
However, there are issues like participants being irregular and arriving late which fail the very idea of team work. “Carpooling helps me reach office on time. We get plenty of time to discuss general issues too,“ said Sangeeta D, software engineer.