Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, almost just crowded as any other regular Monday, drove smoothly on empty roads on the first working day on Monday after an extended weekend since the implementation of the Delhi Government’s odd-even Scheme on January 1.
The Pioneer did a reality check and found Delhiites’ enthusiasm intact on Monday morning as fewer cars were on roads and almost all wore ‘even’ number plates. And that had a direct impact on the efficiency of DTC buses that seemed to be set on cruise control.
Existing fleet of DTC buses — AC (Red), Non-AC (Green) and cluster buses (Orange) — shared the burden with the Delhi Metro Rail Service (DMRC) as additional fleet of 3,000 private buses failed to draw commuters.
While one private bus conductor on route 520 (Malviya Nagar to Super Market) cited “availability of metro” on this route as the reason of low ridership, another bus conductor on TMS route raised a vital question: why will people who travel in cars will choose to travel in buses when they can carpool or travel in metro.
“Moreover people are scared of commuting in private buses as they fear that private buses drive fast; cause accidents; so they do not board our buses however we shout our lungs out. On the contrary, they board DTC buses without a shred of doubt in their mind,” added bus conductor on TMS route.
While this reporter circled around south Delhi without being squeezed to the bone; without being pick-pocketed or being driven away to unknown destination, he could not help but notice that most of the parking spaces had enough free space.
“Usually around 700 vehicles are parked here on any given day but ever since this scheme has been implemented there’s been a decline of 150-200 vehicles,” said a resident overseeing parking lot at A Block, Connaught Place.
His views were shared by Sawan, an entrepreneur, who couldn’t contain his excitement having parked his car without a fuss. “It’s so difficult to find space to park your car on other days, and today it’s empty. It’s great.”
Similar views were expressed by another parking supervisor at a parking lot behind the Delhi Police headquarters. “The number of cars has halved in last four days,” he said, however with a tinge of grudge against the Delhi Government as odd-even scheme was burning a hole in his pocket.