[Aditya]

The Delhi government is looking at various methods to curb the traffic congestion and rising pollution in the city. The latest idea that is reported to be in consideration is a congestion tax on private vehicles.

The transport minister and PWD minister had visited Stockholm, the capital of Sweden to study the transportation system and road designs. Congestion tax is levied on vehicles entering areas of the city that are congested. This step is taken to discourage people from using private vehicles and switch to public transport.

The Delhi government plans to follow Stockholm's path and is mulling the introduction of a congestion fee in congested areas of the city like Chandni Chowk, Laxmi Nagar, Patel Nagar, Karol Bagh, etc. Additionally, a parking fee could be charged through machines. A team from Sweden is expected to visit the national capital to conduct a study.

The government has also proposed a hike in one time parking charges which will make vehicles more expensive. Campaigns like car-free day are also being organised.

Source: ET Auto

[luvtandon]

Originally Posted by Aditya

The government has also proposed a hike in one time parking charges which will make vehicles more expensive.

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For everybody's knowledge, the hike in one time parking charges has not been proposed by the government but by the Standing Committee of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (which by the way is a separate body) and has yet to be passed by the House of North Delhi Municipal Corporation (i.e. the elected body).

The matter of one time parking charges has still not been taken up by the other two Municipal Corporations and it is still not sure that whether the proposal will be implemented and this hike will see the light of day.

[nmenon]

A question similar to what Jeremy Clarkson would ask, would anybody take the public transport in Delhi with the unfortunate reputation the city has and does the public transport get you where you want to go? I haven't been to Delhi, but in most other cities except probably Mumbai, I would not prefer public transport since it doesn't necessarily reach you where you want to go.
If public transport were even half as comfortable as my private vehicle (be it car or 2 wheeler) I'd take it to work everyday here in Kochi, but neither do I get service corresponding to my working hours nor do I have a reasonably comfortable commute, hence the fact that I'm forced to use my personal vehicle.

Imposing congestion tax is a good initiative from the government's point of view for revenue and reducing congestion, but they should accompany this with correspondingly better public transport.

I leave it to the people who reside in Delhi to comment about the public transport, I'm from far off and I don't know the ground realities of the city, but public transport in our country in general is (sadly I may add) not up to the mark.

[roy_libran]

Detraction or Detractors aside, and as a resident of this Megalopolis, I would welcome this move, if it were to come to fruition.

A lot of very valid arguments may be made with respect to Public transport, or the lack thereof, but since it is a Chicken and Egg situation, it may be sensible to create the demand first, and then try and fulfill it.

We Car owners are, in reality, a lazy lot, and unless given very strong reasons, would continue adding To the Traffic, whilst complaining Of the Traffic!

That, and the Hope, that eventually our children would breathe a wee bit easier.

[nmenon]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

Detraction or Detractors aside, and as a resident of this Megalopolis, I would welcome this move, if it were to come to fruition.

A lot of very valid arguments may be made with respect to Public transport, or the lack thereof, but since it is a Chicken and Egg situation, it may be sensible to create the demand first, and then try and fulfill it.

We Car owners are, in reality, a lazy lot, and unless given very strong reasons, would continue adding To the Traffic, whilst complaining Of the Traffic!

That, and the Hope, that eventually our children would breathe a wee bit easier.

I agree with you completely, but wouldn't some foresight or better still an immediate offer of an alternative be great?
I mean at the same time as implementing this congestion tax, make the corresponding capacity available in public transport to take up the people who may readily forsake their vehicles in lieu of public transport.

[i74js]

All roads lead to Rome and all ideas in India lead to collection of more money from public.

- There is no description of what has been studied about the public infrastructure in Stockholm and how the best practices adopted there can be replicated in India / Delhi.

- Which areas in Stockholm are captured through congestion tax, what was the basis of identification / earmarking of these areas? Are there any alternate routes available for people who have to just go across these areas and have no intention to park and spend time in those "congested areas". If alternates are available, will it result in higher commuting time for public?

- We all know the condition of toll booths and alternate processes of collection of money in India, how will this system work and what kind of additional time a person have to spend at these collection points when it is necessary to commute through these areas?

- How to control operational parking mafia (atleast I am aware of most of the locations suggested here) which is one of the main reasons of creating congestion?

The sum and substance - "Please collect money" !

[hybridpetrol]

When a congestion tax is introduced, people have no real option but to allocate some funds in the house budget for that.
From the Government's point of view, this also would serve as another mode of revenue collection.
OK - when citizens are penalized for creating congestion, should'nt Government do something creative to actually lessen the congestion? Can we be assured that the revenue collected the above way by imposing congestion tax would be used for that purpose?
Before introducing this tax, can the Government clearly list out how people can travel from Point A to Point B, without causing congestion? Not generic useless methods such as car pooling, public transport etc., but specific. Those who want to reach these congested places, from various points - what are their options, such as route numbers of buses etc.
Each country is different due to the culture, and when the infrastructure is not the same as Stockholm, why just introduce the tax? If the policeman collects fines for violating traffic rules properly, they can get more revenues, and the much more regulated traffic can actually reduce congestion.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by Aditya

The Delhi government is looking at various methods to curb the traffic congestion and rising pollution in the city. The latest idea that is reported to be in consideration is a congestion tax on private vehicles.

We shall make and implement policies to create reasonable opportunities for education and livelihood in small towns and villages. Then the cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru etc. will not be so congested.

To discourage congestion, we can also shift few big organizations and institutions out of the big congested cities.

Originally Posted by nmenon

A question similar to what Jeremy Clarkson would ask, would anybody take the public transport in Delhi with the unfortunate reputation the city has and does the public transport get you where you want to go?

Good point nmenon.
I used Delhi Metro number of times.
Most of the times (almost all the time) you need to travel standing. Then you have enough sweating climbing up and down the stations. Before and after your journey, you need to take an autorickshaw. I found it inconvenient unless your destination is adjacent to the metro station.

Instead of standing in the metro for long time, I would prefer to sit on my two wheeler and reach the end point (right upto the destination). Anyway, the average speed of metro is around 30-40 kmph. So, compared to two wheeler, it does not even save time.

In my city (Pune), a Metro is being discussed. But this will pull even more people to the city and quality of life will (further) degrade. Real estate sector will benefit, no doubt.

Secondly, if we plan the infrastructure for a certain amount of population (number of people), we shall not allow the city population to grow beyond the capacity of this infrastructure (like drinking water, drainage, public transport etc.).

IMO, no point in first allowing uncontrolled growth of the city (some call it development) and then imposing taxes like congestion tax.

[sourav9385]

Bring it on, muppets!

I paid more than a million bucks out of my own pocket just so I could drive my car & bike on these excuses that the so-called-govt refers to as "roads".

You think a few more bucks as a daily charge is going to deter people from not using their cars??
Pfft...You think we don't know why you do what you do?
You think you are any different from the last bunch of monkeys who were in power the last time, and the time before that?

Hah! Fat chance!
So, go ahead. Implement congestion charging!
You numpties couldn't even implement a standardized number plate system across the damn country.

Just like you wasted the mango mans money implementing a useless & now defunct UIDAI, I'm gonna be sitting here, laughing my pants off when this venture of yours falls flat on its face.

[mvadg]

Public transport? You are talking about buses, metro, and the like?
What we need is a conveyor belt - our population density is that high!

Congestion Tax? - will make no difference at all, only the salaried class will feel the pinch, the rest will recoup it as cess on whatever it is they sell.

[luvtandon]

We pay the following taxes in a vehicles life time.

Excise Duty

Octroi

Sales Tax

Registration Fee

Road Tax

Parking Charges

Service Tax etc.

When all these taxes could not stop a mango man from buying or using a vehicle or more of them, then how a congestion tax and parking fee will be able to do so.

This is nothing but a gimmick to extract money out of the pockets of the common man on one pretext or the other. If all the taxes charged on a vehicle are not sufficient to improve the basic road/public transport infrastructure, then how will this single levy be able to do so?

We are paying taxes and we will continue to do so, whatever the quantum or premise of the tax be.

Nothing is going to change on the ground level with these measures until and unless the money collected through all these taxes is utilized judiciously and for the purpose it was collected.

[Doge]

Looks like another firangi policy that's irrelevant for Delhi and the way commuters in Delhi drive. Collection of tax will increase the jam just like a toll booth. If people here can improve their basic driving style and we get better infrastructure, it will reduce jams a lot. People here have no patience whatsoever.

[rahul_jo]

This seems more like a temporary solution to an ever growing problem. The big issue is the rate at which population is growing.

I am baffled that no one is taking the issue of population seriously even when it's obvious that things are reaching a breaking point.

Oh also, Govt wants people to use public transportation? Well, have you seen the current condition of public transportation in Delhi? Even Metro's are filled to the max during rush hour and buses end up overcrowded too.

Once again, the major issue is the population. I wonder if our leaders will ever take that issue seriously.

[lapis_lazuli]

Well well well : another courtesy visit, school exchange programish....a project file will be made, for sure! In my opinion, there is a BIG difference in the way a Swede would think about public utilities (or lack of it), and us. I welcome the move anyway, because, it would be a deterrent of some sort. Delhi's transport system, is actually better than average. That a large population feels they are a class above (needlessly, often), is a different matter. Very NCRish...!

[asingh1977]

They visit a foreign nation to observe optimization and come back with: TAX. Nice. For people to use public transport efficiently:

1. It must be penetrative and seamless. (Delhi has this, but not seamless).
2. Rate of expansion and upgrade should be planned at least 15-20 years in advance. (Not sure what they are thinking for Delhi Metro, but expansion has been fine).

The problem here is the last leg, and people driving like morons. "Straight line" driving will solve most of Delhi's problems. Not a punitive tax.