BENGALURU: Bengalureans top the list of most inter-city pooling users in the country, according to a recent survey. Bengaluru-Chennai, Bengaluru-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Mysuru are most exploited routes by the travelers, notes the survey conducted by various service providers.
Other than through Bengaluru, Mumbai-Pune and Delhi-Chandigarh are also the most commuted routes.
The inter-city pooling platforms such as Co-Yatri, Poolmycar, Cabme, 360ride, BlaBla cars and many more have been active in city. The pooling platforms say most of their riders in the city are those who work for the IT sector.
Security still remains a major concern among intercity pooling consumers. Some of these platforms use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social profiles to ensure authenticity.
In addition, during registration, one has to upload their citizenship credentials like their Aadhar card, voter ID or passport.
Bipin, who carpooled to Goa, a week ago, says, “It takes at least 13-15 hours in train, 12 hours to reach in bus (costly too) and flight charges are quite expensive. I reached Goa in just eight hours through carpooling and paid `1200. I even found a new friend with the ride. Security still remains a major concern though.”
Lokesh,a software engineer, who commutes from Mysuru to Bengaluru every week says, “It would take 1.5-2 hours to travel in a car to reach my destination. I just shell out around `200-250 now for my travel. This is cheaper than Volvo buses. The users of inter-city pooling have increased from Mysuru to Bengaluru as well. Several times, I find people from my profession sharing the ride with me. This helps me build contacts in my networks”.
The spokesperson of BlaBlaCar says, “The pricing is based on a cost-sharing model. When a member offers seats on BlaBlaCar, a recommended seat price is shown to the member. This price is calculated keeping in mind tolls, depreciation and fuel cost. The car owner is never able to make a profit, but can certainly recover a major part of his/her trip cost”.