Carpool Arabia: Looking to ease the UAE’s traffic congestion woes

Not many entrepreneurs can claim that their brightest business idea was born on the road, but for Frenchman Benjamin de Terssac, that was the case for his UAE startup.

“While commuting every day from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, I made a few observations,” he tells Wamda. “Firstly, most of the cars were occupied by a single person: the driver. And due to traffic congestion, it took me around two hours to reach the office [in non-rush hour traffic, the same journey would take around an hour and 10 minutes]. Other people at my workplace were also facing the same issue.”

Taking a taxi every day was not really an option to, as de Terssac puts it, “relieve his commuter’s stress”. After all, it’s hardly cost effective in the long run.  A single cab ride from Dubai Marina to Abu Dhabi Corniche (a distance of approximately 124km) costs AED 230 ($63) on average. Multiply it by two to factor in the return journey, 20 times a month, and you’re left with a monthly expense of a whopping AED 9,200 ($2,500).

There’s also the fact that petrol prices in the UAE are among the lowest in the world, with a gallon costing around AED 6.50 ($1.77). So it makes economical sense for residents to drive themselves.

And that’s when de Terssac – who has been based in the UAE for three years – had his ‘Eureka’ moment. To provide a solution that would help passengers and drivers share a ride and its cost, and in turn ease traffic congestion and benefit the environment.

Enter Carpool Arabia.

Original article by Rachel McArthur

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Carpool Arabia: Looking to ease the UAE’s traffic congestion woes

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