Carpooling Apps to facilitate second innings of odd-even scheme

After Delhi government launched 'PoochhO Carpool' app to help people explore carpooling options during the second phase of the odd-even scheme, startup iUnir has also introduced a mobile application to facilitate ride sharing on personal vehicles.

"There are about 1 crore seats that are estimated to be vacant in personal cars and bikes of people in Delhi. These can be utilised during odd and even scheme period. People opting for ride-share through an iUnir need to only pay for the cost of that ride," iUnir Co-founder Sandeep Kumar told PTI.

There are about 30 lakh four wheelers in Delhi and 60 lakh bikes offering at least 2 and 1 seat respectively which can be shared for commuting through this app, he said.

People can log in to the application using their Facebook or Linkedin account to share a ride with their contacts only. "We have kept safety in mind. Facebook and Linkedin account login give user access to ride with their contacts. Also, users need to update their photo id, verify the mobile number and email to activate services of the app," Kumar said.

People sharing a ride cannot make any profit as making a profit on the personal vehicle is prohibited under Motor Vehicle Act, he said. iUnir is targeting to have 10 lakh users in Delhi NCR and once it has a strong foothold in the region, the company aims to broaden its services to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Pune to target office going commuters.

Interestingly as many as eight apps were launched in the past week including Hike Messenger that launched "Car Match", a micro app within its app, to facilitate users in sharing rides with friends during the ongoing odd-even scheme in the national capital.