Idea was probably imported by Indian techies. A professional driver to pick you up and take you home again is a common perk for tech workers over there (largely because Indian traffic is so nerve-jarring to the non-professional driver)
Yeah, I worked with a lot of offshore folks in Hyderabad a few years ago, and almost none of them had their own cars. They either rode the municipal bus system (the Indian state of Andhra Prahesh, including Hyderabad, has the largest bus system in the world), used taxis or rickshaws, or more commonly, used hire vans that our company provided.
The downside to this is when they have a transit strike there, which happens every few years, all the hire van drivers and taxi/rickshaw drivers join the strike, often involuntarily. There tends to be violence if they don’t. (Yes, union thugs are the same the world over.)
}:-)4
It was probably done to cut down on poaching. The carpooling in the 90s was pretty intense, but because so many of the companies were in the same neighborhood the carpooling was also pretty haphazard. Lots of folks showing up in one parking lot then gathering into cars with people from multiple companies, people start to talk, offers get made... Company owned buses helps keep that down. Also whatever morning get together meetings you have can be scheduled to happen on the bus.