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Since we started Scoop, we’ve heard countless stories of connections made in carpools that have led everywhere from new BFFs to budding bandmates! Over the course of the coming months, we’ll be sharing your stories about how Scoop has impacted your daily life by improving your commute and building meaningful connections.
This month we’re excited to kick things off with one of our most avid carpoolers, Priyanka Bhattacharya! Priyanka hails from deep in the peninsula and has taken over 280 trips since joining in July 2018. To learn more about how Scoop transformed her 30-minute commute into one of the highlights of her day, we sat down for a chat with her.
Priyanka’s fun facts:
Favorite Carpool Song: Yunhi Kat Jayega Safar by Kumar Sanu (translates to “The Journey Will Pass Easily If We Are Together)
Commute City: Sunnyvale, CA
Number of Trips Taken: 283
How did you commute to work before Scoop, and what motivated you to start carpooling?
“Before Scoop, I would drive to work all by myself! I wanted to start carpooling for three reasons: One, I thought driving alone was a big waste of fuel. I have a gasoline car, so being environmentally-conscious played a big part in my decision to begin carpooling. Two, my commute became faster when I started sharing it with others. And three, I like meeting new people. I heard from others who used Scoop that it allows you to meet people from different companies, which allows you to build your personal and professional networks.”
What does a typical Scoop trip look like for you?
“I schedule at 9:00 p.m. the night before [my trip], and I map out who I’m picking up in the morning once I’m matched. For most of the trips, I end up picking up Scoop carpoolers from my own apartment community or just around two miles from where I live. We all commute together and I finish by dropping them off within .1 miles from where I work—we’re all pretty much neighbors.”
What’s been the most memorable Scoop carpool trip you’ve taken?
I would rate the one in which I found my music buddy as my most memorable Scoop Carpool. He was a Rider and also an intern working at my company, and we were carpooling pretty often because our scheduled times matched us almost every day. We got on the subject of music and he mentioned he knew how to play guitar and I shared that I sang!
I recommended we get together after work and make some music together. He was super up for it, so the very next day, we matched and he brought his guitar along with him in our Scoop. After work, we got together and made some music. Eventually, we decided to start recording videos and started posting them on YouTube!”
How do you make a carpool enjoyable for your fellow carpoolers?
“I’m a talker—I enjoy chatting with people and learning more about them. In general, just having interesting conversations creates a better environment for commuting especially if there’s traffic along the way. Also, driving safely and being on time whether I’m picking them up or dropping them off is key!”
If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing before you started carpooling with Scoop, what would it be?
I would tell myself about the flexibility I would have in terms of choosing the time, which Scoop does a great job of. That’s become my primary reason to continue using Scoop. There is a lot of flexibility in the times I want to choose and I can even block a route instead of just hoping that it won’t be suggested to me again. Those are a few things I believe are great about Scoop.
Many thanks to Priyanka for sharing her experiences using Scoop!
