By Yeshwanth Reddy and Jagriti Arora
As the roads on google maps turn from green to red during peak hours, netizens are increasingly talking about their struggles in everyday traffic on social media without realizing that they are part of the traffic. Like every drop of water in the ocean, every car on the road counts. An aspirational and growing middle-class has led to a massive addition of cars to Indian roads from 6.1 million in 2000 to 30.2 million in 2016, according to data from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). Not only does it point towards insufficient public transport infrastructure, but also towards the need for comfort and flexibility along with a sense of accomplishment that comes with owning a car.
Shared mobility offers the ideal solution to congestion in cities by improving existing asset utilization. MIT Center for Science conducted a case study in New York wherein it was predicted that 98% of the demand for single vacancy vehicle (14,000 cars in NY) can be met by 3000 four-passenger cars. Closer home, a study by the University of Chicago on odd-even scheme in Delhi reported a 10-13% reduction in particulate matter and a 5.4% increase in average speeds.
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