Commuters resist carpool with strangers, doctors demand exemption

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may be encouraging carpooling as the even-odd restriction on car movement is set to start from January 1, but Delhiites are reluctant to go for it, saying that strangers cannot be trusted.

Kejriwal had suggested that people should opt for carpooling to avoid inconvenience. However, many people are considering public transport as an option but not carpooling.

"I do not prefer to sit in a car in which strangers are sitting. Crime has been reported in such cases where people carpool," said Samiksha, a research scholar at JNU.

Some say carpooling is not viable for them because of professional demands.

Sanjiv Bhoi, additional medical superintendent, AIIMS Trauma Centre, questioned why doctors were not exempted from the scheme, adding that carpooling will not work for him.

"It will be extremely difficult for doctors to abide by the odd-even rule. Even if it is just 15 days, we doctors cannot be totally dependent on carpooling or public transport," Bhoi told IANS.

"Those who are working in government offices can carpool since they have similar office timings but such is not our case," he said.

"What if we get an emergency call and have to rush to some other location in the day? If they (the Delhi government) have exempted emergency vehicles such as ambulance, then they should have thought of doctors as well," he added.

Rajesh Sagar, a psychiatrist at AIIMS, spoke on similar lines.

"Carpooling will not be a feasible option for me since my work timings are very different. It is fine when people working for a particular organisation are residing nearby, then carpooling becomes much easier."

"In the end, it is the hospital which will have to bear the brunt of it. On paper, it (carpooling) looks good, but we all can't be dependent on the idea of sharing one vehicle to reach our workplace. Certain professions might suffer because of the odd-even scheme," he added.