[Sportygellar]

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

What exactly is the purpose of this thread guys? If someone has bought a car to commute to work, why shouldn't one use it? Im confused and amused by this. Are you all turning into Greenpeace?

I used to drive the Scorpio and Bolero alone all the time. And I sure dont feel guilty about ANYTHING!!

I Hope You have understood what exactly we are talking.
We are not discussing about this "If someone has bought a car to commute to work, why shouldn't one use it?"

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by adidac369

Atleast one can understand hatchbacks..but how about SUVs and bigger cars carrying just one person!
I feel guilty when driving alone but the road conditions and the dust in Bangalore is convincing me to drive alone guilt free.

Originally Posted by Sportygellar

Know of a person who drives Ford Endeavour all the way to office all alone !

Whats wrong in that? If I had a large SUV I too would take it to work everyday. And I would go alone.
Driving my own car to work means I get to go and come when I want. Freedom to choose where I want to go after/before work.
Carpooling would mean having to wait and coordinate with 3-4 other people leading to greater delays getting in and out of work.
Not everyone lives in the same area so the driver/owner of the car would have to drop everybody else back. Waste of time and energy. By the time the poor owner/driver of the car gets home he will be drained out and wont have the energy to do anything else.
Carpooling doesn't make any sense unless several people live in the same area and work at the same office.

[mb_jg]

I used to travel 65kms to office all by myself in my car. But, I stopped, switched to office cabs. It gets a bit inconvenient, but what the hell. I save 7-8k a month on fuel & I am much relaxed since someone else is getting furious, navigating through all that traffic :o)

[Sportygellar]

Originally Posted by mb_jg

I used to travel 65kms to office all by myself in my car. But, I stopped, switched to office cabs. It gets a bit inconvenient, but what the hell. I save 7-8k a month on fuel & I am much relaxed since someone else is getting furious, navigating through all that traffic :o)

EXACTLY !!! Atleast someone understood what exactly i was trying to make people understand with my words

[Viper21]

Yep i use my office cab as much as possible although i have an option to drive everyday. Sometimes its a bit inconvenient but i have an option to work from home as well so i can manage extra work from home.
In addition to that who would want to negotiate bangalore traffic in peak hours or in the rain. phew.

[rameshnanda]

Not everybody get the luxury of office Cab for daily commuting. For me, I have to travel around 10 kms to reach my office from my home. Most of the time I commute by Car and feel very comfortable and safe. When ever I take my bike, I feel totally unsecure and feel exposed to the heavy pollution as well. Other option I have is to use the public transport which I don't have much connectivity. If I opt for it, it would take around 2 hours for me to travel one way.

[Nitrous Power]

Originally Posted by Sportygellar

EXACTLY !!! Atleast someone understood what exactly i was trying to make people understand with my words

Carpooling works here in USA because of the infrastructure provided. There are specific HOV lanes during the rush hour traffic which enable cars with higher occupancy to go fast and not stuck in traffic. This encourages people to carpool more and more. If government provides this kind of HOV lanes, more people will opt for carpooling. I don't think people will opt for carpooling if one has to stuck in traffic for hours even after adjusting timings with others.

However, if HOV lanes are provided, I don't know how cops will be able to control HOV violators.

[vinya_jag]

I do carpool
We were 4, and now are 3. It works out very well for me Re-wise, but not otherwise.
A nominal 1800 per month on commute is all I have to spend. Get picked up from the front of my house, and then get dropped close by.

But yes, it does not work all the time. Timings will be the biggest consideration. Finished your work and home waiting, and the other guy wants to stay for an hour more - Hard to keep cool.
Want to leave office early? Not easy unless you have good public transport.

I use bike on these odd days. Believe me, its very difficult to ride bike on the ring roads in Bangalore. So had to sell off my Wind and had to upgrade to the Fz. And on rainy days, its fun.

Coming to the bus commute part, I guess Bangalore is the best when it comes to bus facility and I would say it still is bad. A normal commute would take you anywhere between 1 hour to 1.5 hours and you dont get to sit during peak hours. So, most of us would rule out this option too.

And yes, safety, cars rule the road these days. They are fast, break in an instant, can handle better than some of the best bikes, and are cheap to run. Yes cheap. A diesel car today would cost you less than 3 times a Yamaha Fz. A nominal 3000 rupees per month is nothing for most IT professionals.

So, you get this? You will continue to see single car users in days to come.

So, should one be responsible towards the environment and start using alternatives?
I would say no.
Its not an individual's choice. He would choose the best he can afford and the most convenient option.

If anybody, its the government that is supposed to bring in taxes if they need to control traffic. For now, the government sees Indian Automotive industry as a gold egg laying proposition. They want the industry to improve, they want to see growth, more cars sold, more manufacturers coming into India, more employment in the automotive sector etc etc.

And who should provide the roads, who cares about the CO2? The govt does not, which is the biggest picture. India has a big carbon footprint, and do we suffer? No, Its the Australians suffering from Skin cancer due to depleting Ozone, and they shout, but do we care? I dont think we are going to tackle any problem unless we are neck deep in it. For now, we dont even have our feet wet.

[Latheesh]

I drive all alone everyday to office and back, I feel guilty about it.
This is due to;
odd office timing + health condition.

Otherwise I prefer office cabs!

[Cyrus43]

Originally Posted by Sportygellar

I Hope You have understood what exactly we are talking.
We are not discussing about this "If someone has bought a car to commute to work, why shouldn't one use it?"
"Are you all turning into the morons " -Could you please Mind Your Language!!

Then what exactly are you talking about?? If someone wants to use their cars for personal transport, what is wrong. Also, Dont pick out parts of a sentence and try turning it against me. I dont know how you find any statement offensive from what I have said.

The whole Carpool system works in big companies which are situated outside city limits in business parks. Pune and Bangalore have alot of these. Bombay doesnt. So in bombay everyone uses their cars for PERSONAL transport. The last I checked, Cars were invented as PERSONAL transport. I still dont see the point of this thread.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by adidac369

Atleast one can understand hatchbacks..but how about SUVs and bigger cars carrying just one person!

What difference would that make? Save a few feet on one of the lanes or save some fuel?
For the former, there is no lane discipline in any case and for the latter it would be a better idea to switch off all engines while stationary for a minute or more.

I dont think anyone here should take the right to judge others driving their own cars. If someone/ something has to be judged it has to be the lack of town planning and infrastructure by the so called city planners. What has been done by these departments in the last 15 years? They had an opportunity to plan our urban areas well which they have squandered perhaps forever. IMHO all that has been done is the approval of plots for builders/ projects. That is not town planning.
And before somebody lynches me for stating the obvious or for asking what I have done, I have done my job, paid my taxes and bills on time. If someone else had done their job diligently, this situation would not have risen in the first place
/end rant

[asr245]

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

Im confused and amused by this. Are you all turning into the morons who call themselves Greenpeace?


I used to drive the Scorpio and Bolero alone all the time. And I sure dont feel guilty about ANYTHING!!

Anyone who wants to do his/her bit for a better/cleaner environment in not a moron. Anyone who thinks likewise is!

Anybody is judging you or stopping you from driving from SUV but a little care towards the environment could go a long way towards saving this planet for none other than your very own kids.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

And before somebody lynches me for stating the obvious or for asking what I have done, I have done my job, paid my taxes and bills on time. If someone else had done their job diligently, this situation would not have risen in the first place
/end rant

This will go off-topic so I am going to keep it very short. Sorry to say but as a citizen out duty does not end at paying taxes etc.

[mmxylorider]

I remember, back in the states, I used to take a couple of my colleagues along with me to work. I would leave my home and would literally be inside the complex for the next 20 minutes waiting for each one to come (just 5 more minutes!!!!). Needless to say, that did not last long.

I guess in today's scenario, a personal vehicle gets you home faster than the company bus and you get to spend just a little bit more time with your loved ones. The alone time is a bonus. If you can afford the expenses - go for it, I say!

[Cyrus43]

Originally Posted by asr245

Anyone who wants to do his/her bit for a better/cleaner environment in not a moron. Anyone who thinks likewise is!

Anybody is judging you or stopping you from driving from SUV but a little care towards the environment could go a long way towards saving this planet for none other than your very own kids.

Why does everyone have to blame cars for being the biggest problem to the environment? Just because someone drives around in a car doesnt mean he is indifferent to the environment or to pollution. And I am not saying that if someone wants to do a bit for the environment they are morons. I specifically said Greenpeace! I said Greenpeace because of their practices!! I do my little bit for the environment whenever and wherever I can. I plant and conserve trees and never litter. doing that is more helpful than not driving around in a SUV!

And Im sure that by the time our children come around, the planet will have found solutions to pollutions or we would have adapted to living in a certain level of pollution. Growth has its consequences. I am ready to live with them for the sake of progress.

I am sickened and annoyed at the narrow minded and hypocritical thinking of team BHP members who condemn the fact that driving a big car alone is sacrilegious but at the same time comment on how they love the latest SUV from Mercedes/Porsche/BMW, etc. Hypocrisy at its best! Last I checked, this is a car forum. For petrolheads. Not tree huggers.

[su48]

My office is around 8 kms from home and I do car-pooling with me neighbor, who also works in the same tech park; though a different company. I am saving around 40-50% on fuel every month.

If we have an errand to run or if one of us is starting early/late, we commute by bike and continue to pool from the next day onwards. IMO, car-pooling is the best option - you can save on fuel, you can relax on alternate days as you drive alternately, and when you have good company, the drive is never boring and monotonous.

I encourage everyone to give car-pooling a try and see if it works!!! Its worth trying!!!