Ahead of the second phase of odd-even scheme, the Delhi Government on Wednesday said it has not been able to arrive at a solution to the problem of cars returning after dropping school children and suggested car pooling.
One of the new exemptions in the second phase of the odd-even scheme is that vehicles ferrying children in school uniform will be exempted from the odd-even rule but there are concerns about what will happen when the car is on its way back after dropping the child.
During an interaction with students at Sarvodaya Balika Vidyala, Kejriwal said the Government has exempted vehicles carrying children in school dress during the second phase of odd-even which could pose difficulty and suggest carpooling with neighbours to avoid problems.
“We gave it a lot of thought but no solution could be found. It will cause some problems but vehicles could be shared with neighbours,” the Chief Minister said.
Transport Minister Gopal Rai advised students to take help of ‘PoochhO Carpool’ app launched by the Government.
Kejriwal said the implementation of the odd-even scheme in January did not reduce pollution “as much as expected” but it significantly helped reduce traffic congestion in the city.
“Odd-even did reduce pollution but not as much as expected. However, it significantly reduced traffic congestion, the roads were clear and people liked it very much,” he said in reply to a question by a girl student at Sarvodaya Balika Vidyala here.
The odd-even scheme was implemented on an experimental basis from January 1 to January 15 in view of high air pollution in the national Capital. The second phase of the scheme will commence on April 15.