There’s safety in numbers. Biking through city streets as a lone cyclist is far different than biking among a pack of fellow commuters.  A community of like-minded street users feels safer. But what if it wasn’t just a chance occurrence to come across fellow bikers? And what if your city doesn’t have a critical mass of bike commuters?  An organized bike pool can help riders navigate streets, meet other cyclists and feel safer.  Plus for first time city bikers, cycling next to traffic can be extremely intimidating and provides a way to help bikers build confidence on the streets.

Even in India the bike pool concept is gaining in popularity.  There’s a website where car and bike “poolers” can search or create routes, by bike or by car.

The group’s facebook page advises bike commuters to, “look for other cyclists with bike pool stickers on their bikes. It’s just a sign that says, ‘Hey, bike with me!'” The stickers encourage riders to form an impromptu bike pool for as long as the riders are heading along the same path.

Unfortunately, the bike pool idea makes the most sense for those with a mobile phones or those who are web-savvy as riders can get up-to-date information by searching “#bikepool” in twitter. And lastly, as bike pooling grows in popularity, volunteers plan to post signs in neighborhoods, advertising the timing of the bike pools and where they meet.