Move will strain public transport

The Delhi government’s decision to impose curbs on the plying of private vehicles in the city will increase pressure on already struggling modes of public transport such as Delhi Metro, DTC buses and autorickshaws.

The feasibility of the move can be easily be questioned given the huge number of private vehicles in the city. The environment NGOs have welcomed the rationing of private vehicles in the national capital, but auto experts feel the method could create more chaos. And, there is no clarity on VIP vehicles and also on commuters from and to NCR.

According to the data compiled by the Delhi transport department, there are more than 75 lakh cars in Delhi. If the odd-even logic reduces the number of cars by half on streets, people will be forced to travel in Metro or DTC buses. Delhi Metro ferries more than 26 lakh people on an average day, but the Delhi government has not given any details about the number of people that the Metro will be able to accommodate after the anti-pollution curbs are implemented.

The Delhi Transport Corporation ridership has been around 50 lakh and on the days when DTC buses are on strike, the DMRC struggles with the extended burden.

The measures to control pollution are not well-drafted, according to environment experts. “Implementation of this policy is going to put extreme pressure on both the government and the car drivers. When we do not have a strong public transport system, how can we expect everyone to adhere to this,” Vikrant Tongad, an environmentalist working with Delhi-based Social Action for Forest and Environment, said.

One way to deal with the crisis, feel the experts, would be purchase of more cars by the Delhiites. Daily around 1,200 private vehicles are added to the already registered cars in the capital and the number could go up as the upper middle class will not refrain from buying another car with alternate number plates, the green experts warned.

Another area which has not been thought through is the case of radio taxis, currently the transport department does not have official data for calculating the ridership of these taxis which have been added to the Delhi transport system very recently.

This move could also force the autorickshaws and taxis to fleece passengers. While the licences to these taxi companies have not been given on various accounts, this could would force them add manpower without background checks.

The experts believe that manpower would have to be added in the Police traffic department to keep a tab on defaulters if the curbs have to be applicable from next year.