LUCKNOW, Oct. 17 -- With all trains, including special festive ones, running out of seats and flight fares beyond the reach of most, thousands of people working across Uttar Pradesh are hitting the road this Diwali-Chhath season. Pooling vehicles with friends or colleagues, and booking cars through online car pooling app services has emerged as the most practical and affordable alternative for many who are desperate to reach their hometowns in Bihar and eastern UP. The growing network of expressways, including the Purvanchal, Agra-Lucknow, and Bundelkhand Expressways, has made road travel faster, safer, and more reliable, encouraging many to ditch trains and buses for shared road journeys. Coupled with digital platforms like BlaBlaCar, QuickRide, and social media groups, travellers can now find co-passengers heading the same way within hours, turning long-distance travel into an affordable and social experience. Over the past few days, long convoys of private vehicles have been seen heading eastwards along the Purvanchal Expressway and other arterial highways connecting Lucknow, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur to Patna and other towns in Bihar. The surge comes as bus fares have risen steeply-touching Rs.3,500-Rs.4,000 per seat on popular routes like Lucknow-Patna and Varanasi-Gaya-while trains remain overbooked weeks in advance. The group travel trend has also gained momentum through digital car-pool apps and social media groups where people post and find travel partners heading in the same direction. "It is very easy to travel by road as apps like Bla-Bla help find partners and one can travel within Rs 1000. It can even be booked a day before keeping us hassle free from booking 20 days ahead," said Ravi Ranjan, travelling to Gorakhpur from Lucknow. Ashish Adarsh, a resident of Bihar working with a central agro-based company in Lucknow, said the decision to drive home this time was out of compulsion rather than choice. "Every year, we travel home for Durga Puja and Chhath, and trains used to be convenient. But this year, tickets were unavailable even in special trains. With the Purvanchal Expressway, driving has become a comfortable and time-saving option," he said. He will travel with four friends, sharing a car. For many others, car-pooling is a matter of affordability. Vishwajeet Kumar from Varanasi, who works in Lucknow, said, "Bus fares are close to Rs.4,000 per person. By pooling, we can travel in half that amount and reach home comfortably."...