1ST SURVEY OF CAR-POOLERS IN INDIA

JULY 2006

CONDUCTED BY

INDIMOTO.COM
About the Survey

Survey Objective

The survey was executed to understand the profile of the car-poolers who have opted for
carpools by registering themselves on the site www.indimoto.com and posted carpool wanted
advertisements. Being a relatively new website and India’s 1st carpool website we needed to
know what impact we had made so far and how was the concept being received by
commuters across the country.
The results of this survey have given us an interesting insight into our site’s current user base
and will enable us to better target our marketing and promotion activities to reach out to more
commuters and make them aware of the many benefits of car-pooling.

The survey intended to profile the ‘Indian car-pooler’ on the following criterion:

• Geo Location (City)

• Gender
• Age
• Occupation
• Income
• Vehicle Ownership
• Monthly Fuel/Commuting Expense
• Opinion on the Benefits of Carpools

Population Surveyed

All commuters who had posted carpool wanted ads on www.indimoto.com between April’
2006 – June’ 2006.

Number of Respondents: 524

Survey Mode: Objective type Questionnaire by Email

Survey Result Summary

The maximum car-poolers belong to New Delhi ( 53%) with Mumbai second at 26%. 91% of
the car-poolers are male and a majority (85%) are between 26-45 years of age.
81% of the car-poolers are employed in the private sector and 44% have a monthly income of
over Rs.50000.
A majority (83%) own cars and 56% own bikes, 35% of the car-poolers spend more than
Rs.5000 per month on commuting. The primary reason for car-pooling was cost saving (62%)
followed by traffic reduction (38%) and fuel saving (33%).
Geo Location (City)

Mumbai
26%

Bangalore
10%

Hyderabad
3%

Others
8%
Delhi

Mumbai
Bangalore
Hyderabad

Delhi 53% Others

Inference: Of the car-poolers surveyed a maximum of 53% belonged to Delhi &

NCR with Mumbai on second with 26% followed by Bangalore at 10% and
Hyderabad at 3%.

Gender

Male 91%
Female
9%

Male

Female

Inference: 91 % of the car-poolers surveyed were male, females accounted for only
9%.
Age

26-45 Yrs
85%

46-60Yrs
5% Upto 25 Yrs

26-45 Yrs
Upto 25 Yrs 10%

46-60Yrs

Inference: Majority of the car-poolers 85% belong to the age group of 26-45, 10%
are up to 25 years old and 5% are between 46-60 years of age.

Occupation

Govt. Employee Pvt. Sector

7% Employee
Student
81%
Student 3%
Govt. Employee

Professional Pvt. Sector

7% Employee
Entrepreneur Entrepreneur
2%
Professional

Inference: Majority of the car-poolers (81%) are salaried employees in the private
sector, 7% each are employed as government employees and professionals, 3% are
students and only 2% are entrepreneurs.
Monthly Income
Rs.10001-25000
14%

Upto Rs.10000 2%

Rs.25001-50000
40%
Upto Rs.10000

Rs.10001-25000

Rs.50000+ Rs.25001-50000
44%
Rs.50000+

Inference: A majority of 44% of car-poolers belong to high income group and earn
more than Rs.50000 per month, 40% earn between Rs.25000-50000, 14% between
Rs. 10000-25000 and only 2% earn less than Rs.10000.

Vehicle Ownership

None
7%

Bike
56%

Car
83%

0% 50% 100%

Inference: 83% of the car-poolers own a car, 56% own a bike while 7% do not own a
personal vehicle.

Note: Vehicle ownership figures are non-exclusive since many respondents owned a car and bike.
Monthly Fuel / Commuting Expense
Rs.1001-2500
Upto Rs.1000 7% 20%

Upto Rs.1000

Rs.5000+
35% Rs.1001-2500

Rs.2501-5000 Rs.2501-5000
38%

Rs.5000+

Inference: The fuel / commuting expense figures for car-poolers: 38% spend between
Rs.2500-5000, 35% spend more than Rs. 5000, 20% spend between Rs. 1000-2500
while 7% spend up to Rs.1000

Opinion on How Carpools with Benefit Them and Society

Social
Interaction 13%
Ease of
Commuting 25%
Reduce
Pollution 31%

Save Fuel
33%

Reduce Traffic
38%

Save M oney
62%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Inference:

62% of car-poolers site the main benefit of carpools as monetary savings for the
commuters.
38% feel carpools help in reducing traffic congestion.
33% feel that carpools help in fuel saving.
31% site that carpools reduce air pollution.
25% are of the opinion that carpools ease stress of commuting.
13% say carpools are a good way of meeting new people and socializing while
commuting.

Note: Benefits results are non-exclusive since many respondents ticked more than one option.

Survey Results Analysis

The 1st carpool survey has highlighted some interesting facts. The findings indicate that
carpool as a concept has been embraced as yet primarily by educated commuters from major
metros who have high incomes and are well employed with private firms. This trend can be
attributed to high internet penetration in the metros and greater awareness of carpools and its
benefits amongst such individuals. The traffic situation is the worst in the major metros
mainly Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore so it’s not surprising that majority of car-poolers are
from these cities.

Another finding is that most of the car-poolers are male and between the age group of 26-45
years. This is in line with the internet usage stats for India where more males use the internet
as compared with females. The age group of 26-45 represent the working individuals, who
need carpools to travel to work daily and have found this service of maximum use.

A surprising finding was that most of the car-pooler earn a relatively high monthly income of
over Rs.50000 and a majority own cars, this clearly indicates that these car-poolers are not
only interested in saving fuel money but also helping the environment and reducing traffic in
their cities. Some people also found carpools to reduce stress of commuting and found it as a
way to meet with new people on way to their destination.