Vijayawada: Car-pooling and ride-sharing for long distances is slowly catching up among the citizens of the city with frequent travellers offering space in their cars for strangers through smartphone applications.
Car-pooling is a concept where a car owner offers a ride to people who are also travelling on the same route at the same time and are charged comparatively very low.
It is simply like offering a lift and charging for basic resources like fuel. This is made easy and quick with various apps that act as medium for people offering rides and ride-seekers surfacing on smart phone networks.
“I am travelling with family from Tanuku and looking for car-pooling. A couple preferable if possible and I am fine for individuals too,” says one Mr Srikanth Gubbala, who was on his way to Suryapet on Sunday. Similarly, hundreds of car riders are offering rides to strangers who meet them through the application.
However, police warn usage of such offers by strangers as there are chances of strange situations occurring.
“The applications on smartphones verify the identity of the app user but do not verify them in person. It is unsafe to travel with strangers in cars,” says a police official.
Also, officials would not have any control over such services offered by stran-gers and used by stran-gers.
Meanwhile, travel agencies are also using the service apps to save their businesses and attract travellers. Ride-sharing is mostly offered on routes to Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Guntur from Vijaya-wada.
“I come alone to my place on car during weekends from Rajhmundry and offer seats through the app. This helps me save fuel charges,” said S. Rohit, an employee of a private company.
