RedBus, an online bus ticketing platform company, recently started up a new carpooling platform named rPool. The service will launch in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Pune, India. rPool will aim at consumers who work in offices and give them private vehicles to travel their commute. The rPool service will be within the RedBus phone app.

“While governments and various other institutions are evaluating multiple options to tackle congestion in cities, as one of the largest facilitators of road travel in the country, redBus is poised to make a difference through advanced technology and professional expertise. If four people share a car for 10 kms via the rPool platform, 4-5 litres of fuel can be saved with CO2 emissions cut by 9-11 kgs. With a large existing base of users across the country, redBus is poised to scale the rPool proposition at pace, positively impacting quality of life, environment, and the economy” said Prakash Sangam, CEO, RedBus.

Sangam stated that rPool will be expanded into new cities once the company examines how quickly their service is accepted in the original three cities during the next 3 to 6 months. rPool is getting ready to compete against already established carpooling services like UberPool and Ola Share. 

Currently rPool is focused on providing services to professionals only. Those providing rides will be limited to two rides per day and be limited the amount of money they can charge depending on their car type. To start a new rPool account consumers must be verified through their phone number, give their professional corporate email, and RedBus will send an OTP to activate their account. 

When creating a new profile users can select options based on what kind of riders they want to share their commute with based on the kind of ratings they get. Women users can also choose to ride with everyone or only other women passengers. Privacy will include number masking but will let users connect with one another through the mobile app.

Currently cities in India are some of the most congested places in the world. In Bengaluru, the worst time for traffic can add 162% of time to a commute, in Jakarta it's 79%, and in Kuala Lumpur it's 68%.

The number of cars in Bengaluru is continually growing at the fastest rate in the country. This continues to add to the slow traffic and long lines. 

At the launch of the app the first 500 ride providers per city won't be charged any RedBus fee during their first five years of driving.

RedBus already boasts over 180 million tickets sold and has a user base of around 20 million. 

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