Kerala CM launches G-Ride

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today said that the state government would accelerate the deployment of digital resources in development initiatives and also in addressing challenges faced by people.

He was speaking after launching ‘G-Ride’, a digital ride sharing platform specially designed and deployed for the IT industry, by the Group of Technology Companies (GTech), the industry body of IT companies in the state.

Easing traffic, tackling parking woes, reducing fuel consumption, lowering pollution levels and providing convenient modes of transport are of high priority, he said.

“We need to explore citizen driven models, enabled by technology, to achieve these goals. G-Ride will be a model for the state”, Vijayan said.

G-Ride automatically matches co-workers and neighbors and help them travel together to work. It is available in android and iOS versions, a release said.

Several IT companies in cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Noida already encourage car-pooling and ride-sharing, it said.

“A large number of professionals in the IT industry drive or ride to work, as they find this most convenient. This will change as G-Ride gives them the option to offer friends and colleagues a pick-up or to hitch a ride with someone in the neighbourhood”, K Nanda Kumar, Chairman of GTech, said.

Hrishikesh Nair, Chief Executive Officer, state IT parks, said the target is to bring down the use of vehicles by half.

GTech vice-chairman Alexander Varghese, Secretary Vijay Kumar P, Chief Executive Officer Renjith Ramanujam and representatives of the industry were present during the launch ceremony at Cliff House, the official residence of the Chief Minister, the release added.