DO you hate the crowded and slow buses, but are unwilling to pay the high taxi fares? Shenzheners are now resorting to a comfortable and inexpensive way of traveling — car pool.

An estimated 10,000 Shenzheners travel to work by car pool, according to a person in charge of www. chexing.net/shenzhen, a major car pool Web site in Shenzhen. The Web site, which was launched in October last year, had 17,449 postings relating to car pool information as of yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Zhang, who lives in Futian District and works at the science park in Nanshan District, used to spend about 60 yuan (US$7.4) a day in taxi fares. He had to take a taxi to office as his leg was broken recently, which prohibited him from using buses.

Zhang was thrilled to find a driver willing to take him to his office at 7.5 yuan a day. “It’s much cheaper than taxis,” said Zhang, no longer worried about the taxi fares.

“Car pool can greatly save energy and ease traffic congestion,” said Jiang Haiyong, of Shenzhen’s energy-saving association. Shenzhen has nearly 1 million private cars, but much energy is wasted as many of the cars carry just one or two people.

However, an official with the traffic bureau said car pool was illegal because car owners charged money without business permits. This may create loopholes for illegal taxi drivers, said the official.

 (Source: Shenzhen Daily)