Car pooling kicks off in City

Car pooling kicks off in City
DH News Service,Bangalore:

Traffic is sure to hit major junctions in the city and is likely to move at snail’s pace as the BMRCL kickstarts its works at three different destinations shortly.
Launching 'Lets Pool In', a public service initiative on car pooling here on Thursday, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security) Praveen Sood said the Metro rail work from Mysore Road to Magadi Road, Peenya to Sheshadripuram and Jayanagar to Majestic area will begin in two months.
The project will consume considerable amount of space on roads which will result in traffic congestion. Such inconvenience is inevitable as the project is aimed to solve traffic woes, he added.
There are 70 lakh people in the City and 34 lakh vehicles as against 18 lakh vehicles for 1.2 crore population in Mumbai. Absence of adequate and efficient public transport system has created problems which can be reduced by encouraging initiatives like car pooling, he added. Shyju Varkey, station head, Radio One-Bangalore said transportation alternatives that will reduce the number of cars on roads are needed. Fewer cars means lower emissions and less carbon footprints. Small changes can make a huge difference and car pooling is one such small change, he added.
Cricket commentator Charu Sharma said official support was needed for such initiatives. Cricketer Robin Uthappa declared that he was ready to spend some time on a busy road with traffic police to manage the traffic and to create awareness among road users. Cine actor Anu Prabhakar said that the initiative should be encouraged and sustained. K Srinivas, DCP (East Division), A Nagappa ACP (Traffic Central) and Vipul Kasera, founder, CommutEasy were present.


OFFERING, ACCEPTING RIDES
‘Lets pool in’

‘Lets Pool In’, is an initiative of Bangalore traffic police, Radio One-Bangalore and CommuteEasy. People can register and then look for car sharing partners at www.commuteeasy.com and also match their work timings and route. Depending on whether one has a car or nor, one can offer a ride or accept a ride.
The commuters can either use the same car sharing pool or use different car pools depending on their work timings. Users can choose their level of privacy and preferred mode of pooling. Praveen Sood launched by registering his name first.