Despite major misgivings before the implementation of the odd-even rule, Delhiites seem to have embraced the Aam Aadmi Party Government’s scheme wholeheartedly as the fifth day of the experiment also saw smooth traffic flow.
Traffic movement at the Gurgaon-Delhi border too was good on Tuesday, unlike Monday when long jams were reported due to checking at entry points by the Delhi Traffic Police.
Delhi Metro trains and DTC buses too ran below their maximum capacity for the second consecutive day, indicating that most of motorists took auto-rickshaws and cabs, or carpooled to reach their destinations.
The number of violations of the odd-even rule on Tuesday was also lower as just 608 challans were issued as against 1,231 issued on Monday by the Delhi Traffic Police and transport department enforcement teams.
While the traffic police issued 401 challans, the Delhi Transport Department issued challans to around 207 four-wheeled vehicles.
One lPG-run car was impounded for displaying a CNG sticker to avail the exemption. Apart from that, 354 autos-rickshaws and taxis were challaned for overcharging or refusing passengers.
The Delhi Government claimed that the pollution levels had gone down in the interiors of the city, but no change was being seen in the outer parts of Delhi.
“Data collected from 20 locations shows that as one moved from border areas into Delhi, levels of PM 2.5 decreased. PM 2.5 reading at Sangam Vihar was 415 while it was 221 in Jangpura. As many as 13 locations had PM 2.5 readings of 200-300, while seven locations showed readings in the range of 300-400. These seven locations are near border areas,” he said.
Though most commuters expressed satisfaction because of the reduced travel time, many also expressed irritation at having to leave their vehicles at home every alternate day. However, people owning CNG cars or two cars with both odd-even numbers, expressed strong support for the initiative.
“My travel time has reduced significantly as there is less traffic on the roads. I feel that this scheme should be implemented permanently,” said Rohit Tyagi who has both, an even and an odd-number car.
Meanwhile, after reports of huge crowds at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station on Monday, which were later dismissed by Delhi Metro chief Mangu Singh, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai visited Rajiv Chowk station on Tuesday afternoon and checked Monday’s data.
“After comparing the ridership statistics of the last five Mondays, it has emerged that the ridership on this Monday had marginally reduced and not increased. There was no panic situation on Monday, nor is there any panic situation today (Tuesday),” Rai said.
“On Monday, Delhi Metro carried a total of 28,19,657 passengers, that is marginally lower than the average of last five Mondays that stood at 28,25,979. On Tuesday till 8 pm, metro carried a total of 21.3 lakh passengers compared to 22.85 lakh on Monday (till 8 pm) which is a dip of around 1.5 lakh,” said a DMRC spokesperson.
Gopal Rai said that Delhi Metro will continue to run at its peak frequency till January 15. He further said that the transport department will also keep running 7,143 buses till the scheme is being implemented. “But the department has stopped requesting schools to provide buses,” he added.
Rai had on Monday alleged that 283 schools had betrayed the people of Delhi by not providing their buses for the “noble cause”.