Carpooling: Simple, Economic and Ecological

During peak hours in the morning and late afternoon, traffic jams are insupportales. Some have found a solution against this problem: carpooling. "It is the sharing of a vehicle between several people going in the same direction," says Vincent Duval Latreille, Business Development Manager at Astek, a platform that allows those who wish to carpool to meet.

This means of locomotion has been several years in Western countries and moved slowly with us. "This concept comes from the United States, Canada and Europe. It has grown in Mauritius, especially for the trip to Port Louis and Ebony. People do not hesitate to share a vehicle to save time, save money and be more comfortable, "said he.

The principle is simple carpool, "instead of burning 4 or 5 times more fuel leaving several cars that go in the same direction, it is arranged with colleagues, friends or individuals not to get a car. Thereafter, you can set up a system to share travel costs. And avoids traffic congestion, "says Vincent.

Online offers

Some sites and online forums even offer a platform to enable those wishing to carpool to meet, like Tessa.mu managed by the company Astek. "The principle of the site is to allow individuals to place ads for free. A section is dedicated to carpool. On the one hand, there are people who offer this service, and the other people who want to try. The site is content simply to relate. Regarding the conditions and rates, it is individuals who decide offsite, "says Vincent Latreille.

For Yashvin Awootar, a follower of carpooling, this concept is a way of intelligent transportation. "I think this is a more sensible to use one car to direct me to a place where others go in my area. Fuel costs are shared and it reduces the costs of everyone, "said the resident of Triolet.

Every day is the same ritual for Senior Developer. "Every morning, I go out with my wife, my mother and two other people in my community. Instead of five cars, one is enough, because we realize more or less the same place. There is no need to find five parking spaces either, once bound, so that's even less spending, "says this young 28 years.

Sairah Faugoo goes every morning at Port Louis in the same car as its neighbor. "If I did not opt for carpooling, my husband would have had to put in his car. It would be inappropriate to just drop me off at Port-Louis, and it would make a car more in the capital, then there is a way to do otherwise, "she says.

The time saving is also a key factor in carpooling. For those who take the bus, for example, instead of waiting for the latter, it is possible to share a car with another person. "Traveling in a car is more comfortable. Then there is no need to lose a lot of time waiting for the bus and wait at each bus stop, "says Yashvin.

For Sairah, fewer cars mean less pollution. "In a car, you can usually accommodate 4 to 5 people. If everyone has a car, it is 4 or 5 cars off the road, 4 or 5 parking spaces less. That's for a car. On a larger scale, the number of cars off the road would be much more important, and this will reduce the rate of pollution related to traffic, "she advance.

Young people are increasingly fond of this concept. "We often see young professionals who may need to travel long distances, such as Ebony or-Flacq Port Louis Surinam, opt for this type of service. This allows them to avoid the bus service, "says Vincent.