Hyderabadis work together, eat together, but when it comes to travel, going solo seems to be the trend.
Despite most of the workforce in the city travelling to the newer parts of the city for their jobs, carpooling as a practice is yet to take off.
Each day scores of four-wheelers speed towards Hi-tech city and surrounding areas in the mornings and come back during evening. But almost all of these vehicles are occupied by just one person, this despite the fact that most people are commuting towards the same direction.
Carpooling has not taken off in the city for different reasons - company provide transportation being one of them, P. Shiva Shankar, a software engineer working in a MNC said.
“Companies provide transportation and most employees prefer availing these services as they can avoid driving through the traffic that too at odd hours. When some employees choose to use their own vehicles, it would be because they would have specific requirements, like attending to some work en route or may have to return from the office soon. Because of these reasons, carpooling is not perceived as a plausible option by most,” he explained.
Others also point out that people are reluctant about carpooling due to the security concerns and apprehension of loosing freedom to move around.
“Going by own vehicle gives a certain freedom and people are reluctant to forego this. With crime against women increasing, most women professionals prefer company cars, as they have security, or individual vehicles. Also with work hours being irregular, coordination becomes difficult,” Preeti Bhattacharya, a software professional, said.
However, if properly coordinated, carpooling can be of great help in reducing the costs and carbon footprint, P. Siddhartha, a financial analyst said.
“The cost of petrol is going up and the number of vehicles on roads too is increasing. Carpooling could be one of the best ways to beat the odds and this concept can be used without a problem if people reside in same enclaves and know each other well,” he added.
