The first ever Carpool Awards Function was a great success, thanks mainly to all of our users and supporters who showed up to the event. The event was a showcase of our loyal users, supportive tech parks and corporates, and we even had a visit from the Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Bengaluru, P. Harishekaran IPS. The support we received from many of our loyal carpool users was a sight to behold. We were pleased to learn many of our users had arrived for the event by carpool!
Started in 2014 by KNM Rao and co-founder Shobhana Sriram, Quick Ride celebrated its achievements and those of its users with aplomb this Saturday, December 15th at the Chancery Pavilion on Residency Road. Over 200 adherents of the carpooling way of life or culture, as we like to call it, were present to mark this first ever Carpool Awards Function. The fact that so many working professionals felt strongly enough about this undertaking to show up on a chilly Saturday morning speaks volumes of our user base.
We started the event off with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp followed by a short recital of the Ganesh Vandana to mark this momentous event. A panel discussion about shared mobility and the role of carpooling as a sustainable commute option, led by Pawan Mulukutla, started things off with a bang. The panel included the likes of RK Mishra, Rama Devi, Revathy Ashok, Dhanya Shetty, Vivek Jhunjhunwala and Sikander Mohammed.
Ms. Rama Devi, CEO of ELCIA, “Discipline, Carpooling and using bicycles are some of the ways to deal with traffic issues. We need to be systematic, analytical and use technology to solve these problems.”
The panel was unanimous in their support of carpooling as an alternative mode of a commute that can help deal with the congestion of Bengaluru’s roads. Our users were, of course, overjoyed to see that carpooling was getting the praise it deserved from corporates and decision makers at the event. Dhanya Shetty from Wipro stated, “We have the separate infrastructure for BMTC buses, cars and carpool users planned at our new facilities. WIPRO supports carpooling through Quick Ride and we have over 15000 employees who have registered for it through us.”
Corporates that take their CSR seriously, through carpooling, are definitely helping their own employees by providing them with reserved parking benefits and recognizing them for helping combat pollution and traffic in the city.
Founder KNM Rao was on stage next to address all our users. He was ecstatic to find out that so many of the invitees of the event had arrived by carpool which worked perfectly with him saying, “We need to make carpooling a part of our DNA and our daily lives.” Quick Ride has slowly grown from its inception in 2014 to become the largest carpooling network in the country. KNM Rao stated, “We have over 9 lakh users that have completed 8.7 million pool rides and prevented over 18,000 tons of carbon.”
Next, it was a chance for our loyal users to speak up and tell us about their experience. Jaanam, an employee of WIPRO, is a long time user of the app. She has been providing rides and taking rides through Quick Ride over the last 2 years and has helped promote the app at her workplace and in her friend’s circle. “Carpooling through Quick Ride has helped me grow my friends pool exponentially. I’ve realized the joy of sharing rides and have made friendships that will last a lifetime.”
Manjula BN shared her experiences with carpooling and we also played her short video that showcased her carpooling buddies. She starts her commute only after finding carpool partners, which is surely a wake-up call for all those who travel alone in their cars to work.
The users of Quick Ride will be pleased to know that even the traffic police support this noble initiative. In his rousing speech, the Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Bengaluru, P. Harishekaran said, “Quick Ride and carpooling has my complete support. I will do what I can to strengthen carpooling culture in Bengaluru city.”
Awards were handed out by the many luminaries who graced us with their presence. The companies that were awarded for their support of carpooling included the likes of Wipro, IBM, SAP Labs, Embassy and Prestige Group among others. Our long-time users were also rewarded for the rides taken and shared by them. Rousing cheers went up throughout the assembled crowd for many of these users as they were well known amongst the carpooling community.
Ms. Aruna Netwon inaugurated the Carpool Pledge Wall. We requested all the delegates, corporates and users present there to pledge their support for carpooling along with us! The response from everyone present was overwhelming.
We are glad to say that the first ever Carpool Awards Function in Namma Bengaluru was a complete success. The city has always been willing to learn and adapt to the change in technology and we expected nothing less. Quick Ride looks forward to enabling all our users to travel faster, at a lesser cost and to build their networks as they go. Once again, thank you, dear users, for making the event a real success. It wouldn’t have been possible without you.
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