WhatsApp / Telegram CarPool


Thread Starter #1
Joined
Nov 26, 2014
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Pune and Delhi
With the rise in Petrol Prices over last some months, the fuel budget of the common man has become quite high. Especially for those who are regularly commuting to office by their own vehicle and also who seek Ola/Uber for their office commutes.

In Pune, there has been an emergence of WhatsApp/Telegram CarPool groups which has gained a lot of popularity. Many people know that Public Transport in Pune is quite poor. Hence people mostly rely on their own vehicles to commute or using Ola Uber. However both options were still quite costly and also not helping the rising traffic situation and pollution either.

Some months back few WhatsApp & Telegram CarPool Groups started getting shared among people using social media. The concept of this is very simple:

A Telegram Group is being created for commuting from one location to one office area location. The group's invite link is being shared among friends and using social platforms to other people travelling on the same route (and then they also keep sharing the same). Then providers start posting their carpool rides using a particular format specifying the start time, start location, end location and vehicle information. The seeker can look at all the options available and join the CarPool which suits his/her time by contacting the Provider. The seeker pay the provider the pre-determined amount per trip. This is how a post look like:

CP.jpg

This has solved a lot of issues altogether. First seekers who don't drive especially are getting a safer, comfortable and affordable ride to office at their own time. The providers also get to share the fuel cost for his ride to and from office. There is less traffic on roads and thereby less pollution. There is no time dependency for the seeker on the provider as the seeker can chose to travel with any provider thus making the system very effective and helpful to most of the people.

At present there are some 20-30 Telegram and WhatsApp CarPool Groups that are active in Pune.

This is a great idea which should be shared among people and it can greatly reduce traffic and pollution problems in major metro cities like Delhi/NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata. Hope many such system emerges in these cities as well.
 
Thread Starter #3
Joined
Nov 26, 2014
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Pune and Delhi
Re: WhatsApp/Telegram CarPool

There are plenty of carpool apps available these days. QuickRide, sRide are being used prominently.
I had used sRide for a month but didn't found it effective. The problem with these apps are that one has to pay first to contact any provider. Not many people would like to pay for something as unreliable as this. Also there is commission for the app as well which the provider or seeker pays. Some apps also ask for office ids which not many people would like to provide (thats including me).

However by using WhatsApp or Telegram, one gets to contact and confirm his/her ride and travel before paying for the same. There is no commission for app as such. The provider can also become a seeker or some particular days. Lot of flexibility altogether.
 
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Apr 17, 2011
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I am one of the provider and have joined this group. Souvik introduced and added me. It is a win win situation for everyone. Instead of going alone to the office your car can earn you money by taking people with you who are going to your or nearby offices, the fee is nominal but hey, something is better than nothing. I earned around 2.5K during last 40 days. My fuel expenses were around 5-6k for the same period so I saved around 50%.
 

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