To help Reunion students cope with inflation, several higher education establishments (the six campuses of the University of Reunion, the IFR, l’UCO, TetraNergy) have taken the lead and are experimenting with a new carpooling system this fall with the Karos application. Students who drive to class can neutralize fuel costs.
Inflation and fuel prices are having a heavy impact on Reunion students at the start of the 2022 school year. For proof, UNEF has just unveiled a study on the purchasing power of students : rent and transport are the two most critical expenditure items. The current experiment consists of making carpooling completely free (also called “short carriages”) between home and places of education for at least six months. In practice, the student downloads Karos, the mobile application already a partner of the region. Ensuite, two choices are available to him on the application. A fashion passenger : the short car ride is completely free (one round trip per day) and no contribution to fuel costs is requested. In driver mode : the student behind the wheel is paid by welcoming passengers. The average gain is 97 euros per month for users of the application, but it is even higher among students. Enough to completely cancel fuel costs. Facing student precariousness, the Reunion establishments that are partners in this operation aim to be among the good students on a national scale.. Many universities or schools in mainland France are also joining the movement. And for good reason, the French state wants to reach the objective of three million daily carpoolers by 2024.
The students, drivers of carpooling
On the Karos app, students are the good students of carpooling. They are on average twice as diligent and active in their practice of short car sharing. In frequency of journeys, students make twice as many trips per week as the rest of carpoolers. In financial gains, student drivers earn on average nearly 200 euros per month by carpooling between their home and their place of education. Twice more than the average driver who generates around a hundred euros per month on average. This is one of the reasons that pushed the Karos application to pamper students and finance their journeys.. A student who carpools, it is very often one or more Reunionese employees who in turn benefit from the journey. And a student who has already carpooled regularly will continue this habit in the world of work.
