Hyderabad: redBus unveils carpool service for Metro users

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) Managing Director NVS Reddy launched redBus Carpool services for Hyderabad Metro rail commuters in the presence of CEO, redBus, Prakash Sangam, Chief Electrical Engineer, HMRL DVS Raju and others here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, NVS Reddy said this facility would enable last mile connectivity for daily commuters of the metro rail and the service would be provided through rPool, an in-app ride sharing service from redBus. He said carpooling is an ideal solution to share vehicles and reduce congestion. It allows office-goers to avail and offer rides in their personal cars while commuting between home and their workplace. This concept would help creation of sustainable and eco-friendly solutions for the burgeoning traffic problems in the city.

The tie-up between rPool and Hyderabad Metro clearly highlights the synergies in both the platforms and further enhances mobility with first and last mile connectivity for commuters in an affordable manner, said NVS Reddy.

Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus, said collaborative efforts go a long way in their quest to offer sustainable solutions to commuting in cities. Their agreement with L&TMRHL to facilitate easy access to people availing carpooling through redBus (rPool), from and to metro stations, is one such step that is set to streamline end-to-end connectivity.

L&TMRHL has offered dedicated space within stations for rPool to set up kiosks for customer service, apart from parking facilities for ride givers on rPool, for easy pick-up and drop of commuters. In addition to this, rPool's customer service executives posted at the stations will provide 1000 Metro smart cards of Rs 75 to its customers, on a first come, first served basis.

Steps to use rPool

Interested users can download the redBus app if they haven't already and click on the rPool tab on the home screen and register themselves for the service. The registration process will require the user to be verified through their official e-mail Id or any government approved official id. Post completion of the verification process, users can choose to give a ride or take a ride depending on their choice.

Users can create a ride with their source, destination, date and time. Ride givers will have to share vehicle details and route plan separately in addition to these. They can then find matching riders, invite them, confirm the ride and travel. The cost of travel starts from as low 2/- per kilometre for the ride taker.