[carwatcher]

http://cseindia.org/challenge_balanc...Delhistory.pdf


This is an interesting read and touches the points I mentioned in my previous post.

[Manoj2268]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

I feel ....., for instance.

This Government did not take common man into the picture while taking this harebrained step. I do not want to go into the political picture however this move reeks of pandering to the state Govt's major vote share, i.e. the auto drivers and lower strata of the society.

Before implementing such a step, I would like to know how they reached the conclusion that the tailpipe emissions of the privately owned vehicles are the major sources of pollutants. Do the trucks and the commercial vehicles(autos, buses and commercial cabs) not emit any pollutants? The onus should be on the government to ensure that the PUCC centers are calibrated and fitness issued ONLY to those vehicles which pass the tailpipe emissions, commercial or private.

The State Govt. should ensure that the trucks which use Delhi roads as thoroughfare should be barred from entering our borders and heavily penalized if they do so(if a truck is going from Jammu to Jaipur, then this truck should not enter Delhi).

I would speak for myself here. I have travelled in DTC buses when I was in school and college. I prefer travelling by Metro if I have to go to any place nearby any Metro stations but the metro does not cover every nook and cranny of the city. Even the DTC bus services are irregular and extremely crowded. In such a scenario, what would you choose? Don't you think the govt should have this fixed first, before aping the first world country? Do you honestly think that implementing the 'odd-even' formula is a good idea before beefing up the transportation network so that the connectivity till the last mile is ensured?


I have stayed in London for 3 months in 2011. There, I did not feel the NEED for getting a car for hire, so seamless were the transport services. Bus, Tube, the suburban train and the taxis, everything was available round the clock. The travel cards were common for bus and train which made it very convenient for me to travel(and with help from folks).

I work for eight hours everyday. I can think of spending a couple of hours traveling to and from work however spending five and a half hours(by using Public transport) is a strict no-no. Let the govt. beef up the connectivity(via DTC buses, metro feeders and and mini buses), then I would be the first one to ditch my car and embrace them. Till then, I would prefer traveling in peace which involves sedate and safe driving. By commuting by car, I would then have time available which I can spend with family/in other pursuits instead of getting jostled and having my toes crushed in crowded trains. Funnily enough, the money I spent today was more that what I would spend for CNG, if I had taken my car today.

Today was an eye opener...

[Doge]

Originally Posted by SwatiS

To all those supporting the move, a few questions:

1. What about safety (especially females considering the number of cases reported)? Many people travel at odd hours
2. Suppose a person is going on a trip starting on Monday at noon and returning Tuesday evening, what should he do?
3. Assuming public transport is increased, it will not be so much to accommodate all people to sit on seats. Standing and going for 2 hours, is it really practical? Especially those with health issues.
4. Those who suggest car pooling, not everyone has someone staying nearby to car pool, plus you may not like the person who stays nearby. Nothing like the comfort of your own car.
5. If you suggest booking a cab, why should you pay extra for a cab when you have a car lying at home? Add to that the surplus charges at peak hours.

This move appears politically motivated. AAp came up with support of auto-rickshaw guys. This law will greatly benefit them.

1. Its 8 to 8. Not exactly odd hours so you can take your car if you do travel in odd hours.
2. I'm sure that's an exceptional case. Try getting to Delhi before 8 AM maybe?
3. Your internal combustion engines are causing more health issues than standing. I'd rather stand than breathe smog.
4. Try getting out of your comfort zone, you struggle for a while but its okay later. Your car is obviously the most comfy thing but that's at the cost of others health.
5. Taking a cab is stupid unless you have some emergency. Sharing a cab though, makes sense.
Politically motivated or not, air pollution levels are unbearable so I don't think that one should be worried about the autowalla's income.
25% of Delhiites travel by cars. Why should the majority of people who don't use cars also breathe that same polluted air?

[techiecal]

If two-wheelers are not included in this rule because they run on petrol then petrol cars should also be excluded from the ban.

[carwatcher]

As I mentioned in my post to which you replied that many people have not seen the video and also have not bothered to read the list posted on previous page, I am sure that you certainly haven't done so because the points about the trucks, penalties, PUC, etc. have been explained in detail by the CM. So all I can say that we all are playing at the hands of a biased media who in the name of sensationalism can go to any extent.
As few have mentioned that while it will remain a dream to have a seamless connectivity for some time, it doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing anything to help in reducing the pollution. As everyone knows we don't have a public transport system as matured at foreign countries, isn't that a fact that we didn't had roads on which luxury and cars in high speed could be driven, yet people never delayed their purchase saying let's road be ready then we will purchase them.
On a lighter note, if travelling in a Metro was an eye-opener for you, if someone buys a car for the first time and drives it, it surely would be another eye opener for him dealing with the rash drivers, traffic jams, 2-wheelers, pedestrians, etc. I hope you are getting the drift.

Originally Posted by Manoj2268

This Govt .....Today was an eye opener...

[Rajeevraj]

Related News: Beijing woke up to its worst ever smog on Tuesday which prompted a Red Alert to be used for the first time

Residents across this city awoke to an environmental state of emergency on Tuesday as poisonous air quality prompted the government to close schools, force motorists off the road and shut down factories.

The government, which for the first time declared a "red alert" over air pollution late Monday, even broadcast what sounded like bombing raid alerts in the subways - warnings telling people to take precautions with their health. Yet even with those extraordinary measures, the toxic air grew worse, shrouding this capital city of more than 20 million in a soupy, metallic haze.

By 4 p.m., walking the dim streets was like strolling through a coal mine. The municipal air quality index read 308, rated "hazardous" by U.S. standards - a level at which people should not set foot outdoors. Because of industrial coal burning, Chinese cities regularly have air of that quality, among the world's worst.

For many residents, the red alert - used for the first time since an emergency plan for pollution was unveiled two years ago - underscored the devil's handshake that China has made in recent years: the trading of a healthy living environment for breakneck economic growth. Now, as Communist Party leaders try to transform this dystopian scenario, many Chinese are realizing lasting change could take years, maybe decades.

While the above situation is not just caused by vehicles, one thing is clear: Our pollution levels are spiraling out of control and something or the other needs to be done and soon. The last highlighted part in the article above is thought provoking. Considering our typically lax administration, we could be in bigger trouble sooner.

Source: NDTV

[batterylow]

After announcing a scheme that is seemingly a blanket ban on private vehicles, on the basis of whether the last digit of the registration number was odd or even, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Tuesday said it was still in the process of working out the precise modalities related to the vehicle rationing scheme, which would be announced by December 25.

As things stand, at the moment, the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme has been decided to be implemented from 8 am to 8 pm beginning January 1, 2016 for an initial period of 15 days with odd-numbered private vehicles to be allowed to ply on odd dates and even-numbered vehicles allowed to ply on even dates.

“The Delhi Metro is working on a plan to increase its operational frequency. We have also decided to bring 1,000 new cluster buses to augment public transport. We have also decided to involve around 9,000 private buses including those serving schools for ferrying passengers,” Mr. Rai said adding that the scheme would be reviewed after January 15, 2016.

The Delhi government has also served notices to a number of major projects across Delhi, including the under—construction Parliament House annexe building and a wing of Supreme Court, asking each of them to deposit compensation amount of Rs. 50,000 for flouting dust pollution norms

Source

The goverment now has to take a call after the trial period if this can be implmented or some other means have to be taken to rein in pollution. Good to see that that government is also fining building that flout the pollution norms.

[greatgyan]

I believe this to be an easy way out for the government. Instead of developing the city's infrastructure to be in line with the ever growing population and the number of vehicles in the city, they've taken an easy way out by inconveniencing the citizens.
Developing the infrastructure of the city means lesser traffic congestion. Lesser traffic congestion means lower travel time i.e less time on the road for any car,bike,truck,tempo etc. Less time on the road means less air pollution.

[drmohitg]

I am seriously unable to understand what to do on the days I have night shifts which last from 8 am, day 1 to 8 am, day 2. My car becomes technically illegal on the post duty journey back to home.

[Ritesh_Dogar]

Another good example of the sad state of affairs in our country.

Almost everything in our country is politically motivated. Instead of being proactive in its approach of providing good facilities to the citizens as per the demand and addressing problems related to pollution, urbanisation, growing population and other issues, the Government chooses to target the weakest section (The Middle Class) just out of fear of losing its Vote Bank.
Agreed that drastic measures are needed to bring the pollution levels in Delhi down, sadly knee-jerk reactions like these are just to please the Higher Ups (NGT) that somethings are being done but in reality dont work.

Sadly there is every kind of union/lobby operating anywhere you see, they collectively fight for each and every thing be it right or wrong.

Taking any kind of action or making any policies on Commercial Vehicles like Trucks, Tempos, Autos etc will upset their lobby/union.
Taking action on industries will upset their lobby and the result will be loss of votes

There are studies/research as some people have mentioned which state that odd/even rule, license plate bans etc dont help in reducing pollution levels, rather they increase the pollution levels in the long run.

A long term strategy alongwith proper and very strict implementation of well thought of rules is needed. Any rule you take out of the book in the beginning is followed for a few days and then as time passes is forgotten and even the implementing authority becomes lazy in its implementation also the rules are byepassed or a workaround is often thought of by some genious.

Whoever had a chance to visit Shimla must be aware of its traffic problems, recently the High Court gave a decision that vehicles wanting to get registered in Shimla have to provide proof of parking. People now show alternate address proofs or get their vehicles registered at their native place. The result is the same as before with more and more cars parked on the streets choking all the roads.

Its the same with this even/odd rule. People will incline towards purchasing a second vehicle resulting in a rise in the pollution levels.

The Authorities should be working towards the real cause of the problem which they already know about, but are afraid to take action fearing that the voter base might go away.

[lordvader]

Moreover, so far there has been no talk on how auto or taxi fares will be regulated. In Aug, Kejriwal government was supposed to announce the new rules for radio taxis, and I'm sure it has not seen the light of day till date.

And now with this rule in place, there will initially be a surge in demand of cabs, as a stopgap arrangement for some to see through the trial phase. It is anyone's guess on how the peak pricing will work when that happens.

[NA86]

While I completely support the cause and I agree that we should and we have to do something to save the environment and save ourselves from this pollution *agreeed* but at the same time I think it is a hasty decision taken without thinking about the common man who does not have any Metro or Bus connectivity.

I tried once (on car free day in Gurgaon) to go by bicycle and it really gave me a life time experience (**Sarcasm**) as one govt bus almost killed me on the road. It took me almost 10 minutes to recover from the incident as I was not able to believe that I am alive.

What about the vehicles coming from outside Delhi.
If I want to go from Punjab to Jaipur and unfortunately I enter Delhi @ 8AM (on **NOT my car DAY**) then what do I supposed to do? Shall I wait @ Delhi border until 8PM??

Also, If I start from Delhi to Gurgaon @ 7AM so that I reach Gurgaon by 8:30 or 9AM but unfortunately if i get stuck in traffic (Which definitely will happen as everybody will try to cross Delhi border before 8AM) and it crosses 8AM window while I am in Delhi, What am I supposed to do?? Am I supposed to park my car @ the side of road and hire a taxi??

NOTE FROM T-BHP SUPPORT: Please use no more than TWO emoticons per post. Read the Announcements carefully before proceeding. Thanks.

[quickdraw]

Got this today, thought i'll share.

The last 2 points are

Samples will be taken from 2000 places to see how this is working. Sunday ALL CARS CAN RUN

Next meeting to be held on Dec 11

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Related News: Beijing

Thats the iconic IBM Tower in Beijing,
Here is the pic from 2nd November this year on a clear day.

I am slated to visit Beijing again next week and am all prepared with a mask etc.

The second pic is of my 4 days in Beijing when I saw 4 different types of weather patterns.

[phamilyman]

All these concerns is why i have earlier supported BRT over such barely-thought-through measures.

Atleast the BRT shifts infrastructure spends away from car-centric infrastructure, to infrastructure which has higher density of usage. It does NOT infringe upon individual choices and instead presents the trade-off: Will the middle-class-India give up its beloved automobile for a (potentially) faster public transport ride, or is it happy driving longer in its own automobile with the attendant headache.

This proposal leaves NO choice with individuals, except to buy a two-wheeler (for men). Maybe that shift of mode itself reduces significant road occupancy and diesel usage to improve our health