While the idea of constructing flyovers to ease Mumbai's traffic mess has hit a big hurdle due to public resistance, Mumbaikars may soon have another solution to its perennial traffic problem -- a car pooling service. Started by an NGO, the service "Cool Pool" will be launched in the city next month.

Mumbai's traffic problem is multi-facted. While the traffic volume on the roads is simply enormous, parking is the second big problem. As for private transport, the taxi service is too costly for everyday use.

"There's so much of traffic on the roads. Parking is also a big problem. It takes me 20 minutes to travel to shop every day. Taxis are expensive to take every day," says Aditya Desai, a regular commuter.

Desai runs a wholesale gift shop at Mumbai's crowded Abdul Rehman Street.

Once he enters Abdul Rehman Street, he would dodge handcarts and people and try to find a parking space somewhere. At times, he is forced to park in such a place from where he would need to walk a good 10 minutes to his store.

Before that, in order to reach his shop, Desai needs to negotiate many snarls and bumper-to-bumper traffic on the crowded Mumbai roads.
Asking for a lift to work is an option, but Mumbaikars are not really known for obliging a stranger just like that.

It is in this space that 'Cool Pool' seeks to offer a solution. ‘Cool Pool’ is Mumbai's only car-pooling service. The service will be launched in May and it will work through an SMS network.

Once registered, the pool users simply need to send an SMS to the company about their destination, which will then be instantly conveyed to a potential registered lift-giver. After that, numbers will be exchanged and the two sides will meet.

Ashok Datar, organiser of ‘Cool Pool', says: "On an average, a car on a Mumbai road carries 1.75 persons. We want to change that to 3. This will reduce traffic by 15 per cent."

This service will cost Rs 25 per trip, and the money will be credited to the lift-giver's account.