MUMBAI: When 10,000 people opt to car-pool, we're talking about success. Launched in November 2008, it has been 6 months since Bangalore Traffic police partnered with Radio One and CommuteEasy to spread the word about the effectiveness of carpooling. And the response is nothing short of staggering  At a press conference organised to celebrate the success of Lets Pool In..., 94.3 Radio One and Commute Easy in partnership with Bangalore Traffic Police announced a set of new initiatives to make it work for individuals as well as corporate houses with a large work force   The key dignitaries who spoke on the occasion were Mr. Shankar Bidari, Bangalore Police Commissioner, Mr. Praveen Sood, Additional CP (Traffic), Bangalore's renowned theatre personality Ms. Arundhati Nag, Lead India winner Mr. RK Mishra and Mr. Srihari Gopinath, Country Manager - Influencer Relations, Corporate Marketing, HP India, and Mr. Shyju Varkey, Station Head-Radio One.

"I'm happy that Bangalore has taken to the idea of car-pooling," Mr. Shankar Bidari, Bangalore Police Commissioner said. "The safety and comfort of the Bangaloreans is at the top of Traffic department's priority list and that's why we always support 'out-of-the-box' solutions like this. Carpooling is a great way to cut down traffic congestion and save money on petrol. Moreover, it's always better to have your friends or group with you, if you have to commute at odd hours. We are happy to be a part of this car pooling initiative," added Mr. Shankar Bidari.

"Car-pooling works in Bangalore because it provides simple answers to a complex problem," said Shyju Varkey, Station Head, Radio One- Bangalore  The least one can do when in charge of a powerful medium like radio, is to show the way and disseminate these simple answers. The success of the car-pooling drive shows that small individual changes can make a huge difference,... added Mr Varkey.

Carpooling is a great way to do your part in reducing your carbon footprint as well as reducing the amount of money you spend on petrol each day. Commute Easy is a pooling initiative that aims to make your daily commute easier by connecting you to commuters across the city who shares your route. All you have to do is to register at the website www.commuteeasy.com and search for people with common destination. And of course, along the way, you can make some great friends too.

The environmentally sound solution of car-pooling also saw massive draw from the City's leading lights. Theatre personality Arundhati Nag and Lead India winner R K Mishra responded enthusiastically to concept of green living, thereby providing a fillip to the idea of green living.

"We are overwhelmed by the response,... said Vipul Kasera, of Commute Easy. "The simplicity and convenience of the initiative saw great response not only from individuals but also from corporates with a large number of work force. Lot of them have decided to come on-board responding to this green idea. The process is simple. People can register and then look for car-sharing partners at www.commuteeasy.com, say, within one kilometre radius, and also match their work timings and route. Depending on whether one has a car or not, one can offer a ride or accept a ride," said Vipul Kasera, of Commute Easy, explaining the concept. The commuters can either use the same car-sharing pool or use different car pools depending on their work timings," added Mr Kasera.

I think it's a great idea  Anything which reduces the discomfort of our employees is something that we will ride on, said Srihari  With the traffic congestion in the city, its time that corporates start looking at using the existing infrastructure in a better way that means exploring the option of car pooling  This definitely is a comprehensive upgrade to how we get around. ...

It is a win-win solution for every stakeholder and a long-term sustainable solution for the traffic problems of the city. Any amount of infrastructure will not solve the problem, if the demand for private transport continues to rise at the present rate,... said Mr. Praveen Sood, Addl. CP (Traffic), the facilitator of the program  We strongly believe in community-driven initiatives to solve problems of city and this is one of these  We believe in networking with the people who can do it better rather than doing everything ourselves... he added.

Added Shyju, We call upon more corporates to adopt car pooling and encourage this environment friendly mode of transport....

In fact Radio-one FM 94.3 and Commuteeasy.com is planning to expand the scope of the service this time around. The facility will be made available in future to schools, colleges, hospitals with staff working in shifts and other office goers who share the same routes where transport facility is not provided. Keeping safety and security in mind, there will also be services like pick up/drop at your door step at rates as low as Rs.1500/- per month which can be paid monthly.