Benjamin de Terssac, founder and chief driver of Carpool Arabia.  Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Benjamin de Terssac, founder and chief driver of Carpool Arabia. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Websites give car-pooling a lift



DUBAI // An online push by the Roads and Transport Authority and a private website to encourage car-pooling among commuters has been warmly received.

The RTA website, Sharekni, allows users to register and find others who want to share the daily drive. Carpool Arabia does the same thing but is privately operated.

They both say commuters are keen to avoid relentless rush-hour traffic, the challenge of finding parking and are eager for some company on the trip.

“The kryptonite of Dubai is parking and traffic,” said Ryan Aldrin, 27, who works for Nabbesh, an online community portal for freelance workers.

“I’m all for a company that can reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and help the environment, but also reduce the amount the traffic because there are a lot of people all going to the same places every day.”

The RTA has been promoting car pools as an eco-conscious solution to traffic congestion.

The success of projects that advocate it, such as Carpool Arabia, depend almost entirely on stronger public engagement. More participants mean more routes and travel times to share.

“I think the biggest thing in Dubai is that people want something that is easy, so if Carpool Arabia is going to be successful it has to be adopted by the masses,” said Mr Aldrin, from the UK.

Carpool Arabia uses a peer-review system that holds users accountable for their conduct and urges them to provide better car-pooling experiences, says Benjamin de Terssac, its co-founder.

The site, which is still in a testing phase, uses what the company says are innovative techniques to establish trust and promote car-pooling, and overcome a reluctance to get into cars with strangers.

“Profiles is the main tool,” Mr de Terssac said. “This communication is very important because it is the way in which the users can introduce themselves to their future car-poolers and verify their identity through their Facebook, so that they can connect.”

The site also allows users to chat before making a commitment, so they can fine tune details or just get a better understanding of who they might be spending hours with.

“If you car-pool with me and you are acting like a jerk, I can write that ‘this person was smoking in the car,’ and so on, and this is how you make other people aware of each other’s behaviour,” Mr de Terssac said.

Rabih El Khodr, 29, a chief trainer at branding consultancy Standup Communication, is sold on the idea.

“I got introduced to Carpool Arabia at the Arabnet Digital Summit earlier in June,” Mr El Khodr said. “I needed to figure out a stable mode of transport all the way to the Palm Jumeirah and so I said to myself, ‘Why not give it a try?’

“It’s a very social way of transport. On top of that, if you and the people you are car-pooling with share common interests, it can make for a very memorable experience along the way, not to mention that you save money and the environment.”

Sharekni is similar to Carpool Arabia but Mr El Khodr, from Lebanon, thinks the RTA should provide more, offering infrastructure support through car-pool lanes and policies that encourage shared rides.

Both users suggested there needed to be wider engagement from the community and the government in encouraging something that has a huge potential to reduce carbon emissions.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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