“Car Free Thursdays”-Smoother Travel, Cleaner Environment

Every inch of progress you make is vital-to best understand this principle, just get stuck in a traffic jam!

For most of us commuting in our vehicles, it’s the same story. We start from home with more than enough time in hand to reach office, inevitably get stuck in traffic congestions at every major junction, give our legs a grueling workout as we work the clutch and gears and finally arrive late in a foul mood. As the mass of vehicles in front of us refuses to budge, we keep glancing at drivers around and think, if only they’d have left their cars at home, our roads would have been so much better.

However, none of us are willing to let go of the comfort provided by our cars. During peak hours, buses are overcrowded, autos are difficult to get as they fill up in no time and reserving an auto all for yourself results in frustrating arguments with drivers who are looking to fleece you. Troubles such as these are pushing more and more people to invest in personal vehicles, thereby increasing traffic on our roads.

Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA), in association with TSRTC and several other IT industry associations, is looking to give commuters a taste of stress free travel on a weekday by introducing “Car Free Thursdays”-a day we pledge to leave our cars behind and avail alternate modes of transport to and from work. To effectively address the prevailing problems with public transport, TSRTC will ply an extra 70 buses in addition to the 350 it already operates on key routes leading to the city’s IT corridors. This will ensure that a bus reaches commuters every 2 minutes.

Apart from TSRTC’s efforts, there are other ways of making Car Free Thursdays a success. Carpooling with a colleague or a friend is a good option which accommodates four employees in one car, thereby removing three extra cars from the road. So if you have colleagues traveling the same route as you, sync up with them and arrange to share a ride, and in case you do not know anyone, there’s a bunch of apps facilitating carpooling and making your search easy. Just hit up RideIT, Zify or Zupp to get started. Alternately, you can join the Whatsapp based carpool community by visiting its Facebook link or leaving a message at actcarpool@gmail.com. You can also opt for a monthly pre-paid shared cab service provided by H2o cabs.

If your office is not too far from where you stay, give some thought to cycling or walking. Apart from reducing the need to drive, it will also give you a good, healthy workout. Multi Modal Transit System (MMTS) trains connect most areas of Hyderabad and offer a fast and convenient option to reach your office from almost anywhere.

“Car Free Thursdays” are not only aimed at reducing traffic on our roads but promoting an eco-friendly attitude as well. More vehicles equate to increasing levels of pollution and a pledge to keep vehicles off the road can go a long way in reducing noxious fumes from the air we breathe.

So from August 6th onwards, let’s pledge to make our roads congestion free and do our bit for the environment by supporting “Car Free Thursdays”.

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