An average passenger car emits about 4.6 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Global warming is experiencing a dramatic surge along with the growth in carbon emissions each year. In addition, cars significantly contribute to pollution, with India ranking among the world's most polluted nations and being home to 21 of the 30 most polluted cities. According to a recent Lancet report, pollution caused more than 2.3 million premature deaths in India in 2019. Air pollution alone was responsible for over 1.6 million deaths. Bangalore, India's third-most polluted city, is home to one of our team members. This city also happens to suffer from severe traffic congestion, which not only affects the quality of life but also causes tremendous amounts of pollution. Facing the brunt and the harm caused by the pollution every day, we sought to change that.
Carpooling is something to be believed as a promising antidote. Carpooling is often viewed as a trend of sharing a single privately owned vehicle with several people on the same journey. Such practice helps to increase energy efficiency, reduce pollution levels and even the number of vehicles on the road. A number of studies have found that carpooling can reduce carbon dioxide emissions. For example, UC Berkeley researchers reported that individual carpoolers may reduce GHG emissions by approximately 4% to 5% (Shaheen et al., 2018). Another research’s finding also stated that employees carpooling both on the way to work and home can potentially decrease 22%-28% CO2 emissions (Bruck et al., 2017). Vehikle is essentially a smartphone software that facilitates carpooling. This may really be a blessing given the soaring petrol prices in India.