CONCERNED OVER the rise in the number of private vehicles on Delhi's roads and the pollution they cause, a city bureaucrat has proposed a new macro-level car pool system for the city. Developed by Vishva Mohan, an officer-on -special-duty in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), 'Pan-City Mega Car Pool' - as he calls it, proposes to do away with the inherent problems of the conventional car pool system with the use of modern technology.

"The scheme proposes to cover lakhs of city cars under one 'mega' carpool system. Any mega carpool member can avail ride from any member and return the ride, not necessarily to the same member from whom the ride was availed.

This is in sharp contrast to conventional carpools, which have 3-4 members exchanging rides on a rotational basis," said Mohan. The scheme, said Mohan, has already been proposed to the state government for implementation.

"We have received the proposal. We want this scheme to be first presented to the group of secretaries for an intellectual discussion," Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta said.
According to Mohan, interested car owners will be enrolled as members under this scheme. They will be issued a smart card-based photo ID, which also works as a credit/debit card to record mileage points (described later), which the car owners will earn by giving rides to other people.

There will be a card reader in each car, which will read the smart card and sense the location of the car. The data will be transmitted to a server.

Points will be debited from the account of the person availing the ride and will be credited to the account of the person offering the ride, he proposes. "Unlike the conventional pool system where the members necessarily have to be from the same or neighbouring colonies, should be working in same office area and should follow same office timings, mega car pool offers more flexibility.

There can be a loose group of more members, following different office timings," said Mohan. According to Mohan, the central server register and match members' travel plans and sets up various members with one another with the help of special computer software.

"In fact, resident welfare associations under the Bhagidari scheme can be involved to find more participants for this scheme," DTC chairman and managing director Ramesh Negi said.