Pune: Commuters are preferring shared cabs along cities other than Pune-Mumbai route over past few years. Some of the new cities that have emerged such as Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Kolhapur.Earlier, regular commuters used shared cabs for travelling from Pune to Mumbai but now techies and even traders prefer shared cabs to smaller cities on account of influx of people to Pune.The average number of people travelling through shared cabs on Pune-Nashik route over past 12 months is at to 1 lakh. Similarly, average travellers on Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar route is at 87,000 per month, as per data from BlaBlaCar India. Now, Pune-Nashik has the most dense traffic for the shared card service provider. “Pune to Mumbai route has host of multiple options such as bus services and private cab service providers. Yet the preference of commuters have moved towards carpooling from traditional modes of transport,” said Jit Banerjee, director, BlaBlaCar India.“I stay in Chhatrapati Sambhainagar and travel to Pune for 12 days a month owing to hybrid work mode. Earlier, I would either drive alone or take a bus, but carpooling has become much more convenient. It is usually faster, costs less than driving my own car and gives me flexibility in choosing departure timings,” Sanjay Kadam, a techie working in a startup said.“I am posted in Pune for two years and do not want to move my family here from Kharghar. I drive everyday to Navi Mumbai from Shivajinagar. Sharing the travel allows me to pass time with my fellow passengers, said Pratik Kumar, a bank employee.Tushar Patil, an onion trader living in Wakad, but native of Junnar, said that it is convenient and cost effective for him to travel to his home town via carpooling compared to bus or taxi. “There are no hassles and car owners are generally accommodative. There are times when car owner went out of the way to drop me at a auto stand so that it would be easier for me to go home,” he added.
