| The concept of carpooling — launched by KoolPool — has been an out-and-out success in the mega-city of Mumbai with 4,000 people requesting for a membership in a span of less than six months. |
| Ashok Datar, co-founder of KoolPool and a transport specialist said, “We have a list of 4,000 people, mostly office-goers, who have shown interest in carpooling.” Car pools could augur a win-win situation for commuters and the government. But we would like to start with a small number and look at the viability of the system, added Datar. |
| Of the 4,000 entries that KoolPool has received, only 764 are presently using the carpooling system. Joshua D’Souza, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of KoolPool, attributes this to the stringent verification procedure. |
| “After verification, a photo ID card is issued to each member for additional security. It has to be produced by every ride seeker before getting into any car”, says Joshua. |
| Those currently selected are office goers whose offices are located at Bandra-Kurla Complex, Andheri (E) and Nariman Point. “We have specifically selected this route as it has been learnt that traffic is high en route to these areas during peak hours,” adds Joshua. |
| KoolPool estimates that if 6,500 vehicles pick one member for an average 15 km a day on two trips for 22 days a months for a year, it would reduce 51.48 million km of travel per annum. But they’re not going to sell you carpooling as a way to ‘save the world’. They want to make it work for you. |
| And if you are wondering how the system has been contributing to the environment, then the members using carpool service have already started doing their bit. Reports are showing a reduction of 1170 kg of carbon dioxide. |
| A study conducted by KoolPool shows that even if 6,500 people pick up one person two times each day, it will reduce 50 million km of travel within a year. This would translate into 11,800 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) being reduced by November 2007. |
| Chetan Temkar, KoolPool co-founder and a global entrepreneur, said, “The members who are using KoolPool were enrolled during the ‘Free Trial Run’. That helped us sort out various aspects for the betterment of service.” |
| Temkar added that more members will be enrolled with the newly designed user friendly system of KoolPool.
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