Remember good old days, when travel by road used to be all fun? The joy of a getting onto a carefree long ride, feeling the wind while you had the wheel in your hands with your most favorite music on the radio. Good old times, right? Unfortunately, with the rise of the petrol prices, the joy slowly transitioned to more of an economical pain and stopped making making much of a sense.
Snapping back to the recent past, I used to drive long distances every day when I was engrossed with the hustle and bustle of a day job. With two cars at the household, both of us used to go to work in different directions. With the public transport, non-existent I was riding low and mundane until I started car pooling with a colleague of mine. It was much easier to cover the distance with a companion to chat up about anything under the sun.
In theory, carpooling sounds like an extremely wonderful idea, be it to work or an inter-city ride. All hails to the guy who came up with it! (Who came up with it, like really?) Most of the cars on the road have only one or two passengers. Besides sounding like an economical junkie and bantering ‘Reducing our carbon footprint for a better future!’, it made more sense cost-wise and obviously a win-win in every way. It did work wonders for me with a trusted colleague calling shotgun besides.
Extending such pooling rides longer was the progress obviously. I haven’t tried inter-city carpooling much other than on a few occasions with friends. The very obvious reason being the fun factor of having more people in the car!Switching the rider’s position and taking a nap or being the snack distributor while the other takes the turn to drive, was the EUREKA moment of a ‘non-stressful’ ride!
It is certainly true with respect to me, that my spidey sense works 100% and I become a better driver when I realize that I have more people in my car. Naturally, having the wheel in my hands, the saying goes, ‘With great power, comes great responsibility!’ I drive with greater caution. A lot of people wouldn’t believe their eyes, if they saw my driving skills at the max when I was riding with friends, and am sure while pooling, my friends felt the same. But yeah, with time swaying by, it has become a thing of the past. Neither I have to commute long hours behind the wheel nor ride the Metro,to travel to Delhi or beyond.
I came across of BlaBlaCar’s contest on Twitter. Looks like Gul Panag is offering an inter-city car ride from Mumbai to Pune along with her brother. And to win this trip, one has to sign up, create a profile and become a member of BlaBlaCar. Smart move, BlaBla!
Option to upload a government ID & become a member is something that reassures me, being a woman but only that much. Given that this is India, I might take a ride with a verified person. But I will take a ride with my friends any given day rather than a complete stranger. It makes sense in every way.
So, how about you? Will you share an inter-city ride with someone? I am interested in hearing from all my readers, not just women. What do you say?
Not too sure if I would unless it is a woman only car. I still have not tried out the Uber pool service owing to the same.
I have tried Ola during day time and it is so much cheaper! Uber got such a negative publicity right in the beginning that I never went anywhere near it!
It’s a great concept no doubt, but as a woman safety would be a concern. You may want to start carpooling with friends or colleagues or people you know. It’s a great method to save money.
I agree with you!
Idea is good. Sharing can be fun with known particiants.
Best wishes to all those are contesting.
I agree Indrani, but I do use Ola.
Not sure about India, but round my end in Europe, BlaBlaCar offers a “women only” option, where you get a female driver and female passengers exclusively. Works a treat.
Yes sounds like a good idea!
Car pooling is indeed fun (inter, intra both) when done with our friends or colleagues whom we know. With a stranger, the safety part is the key, both for men and women. Also apart from safety sometimes we might just click due to some common interest but sometimes it might go horribly wrong for example the choice of songs you listen to!
So for an inter city ride, I might keep this as my last option of sharing car with a total stranger!
Thank you for adding your voice Arun!
It’s a great concept!
Yes Archana but as a woman I find it problematic in practice!
My school was very far from home and I used the school bus for a long time and then moved to car pool! I love the idea of car pools and would like to try it out even now, but my topmost concern would be safety! Having another woman in the car with me, would make me more comfortable!
I agree Chaitali, it is a great idea but safety will be a big concern!
I too won’t be comfortable sharing a car with a complete stranger…and that too for a long distance.
Same here Bushra. I like the economy, fuel saving everything but that it doesn’t feel safe.