[sdp1975]

The number of additional buses have come down to 3000 from the initially promised 6000. The real number will probably be much lesser than 3000 on those 15 days.

Schools are being kept close during these 15 days following a government notification, and the Delhi government had asked the school bus operators to provide 2000 buses. The operators have refused to oblige and have moved court instead.

The Delhi CM has also asked car users to carpool instead of using buses or the metro, as they will be really crowded on those days .

Source

IMHO, this trial is a foregone conclusion. The pollution levels won't come down during the trial period by banning only the cars, if reports are to be believed.

[ajitstreet]

Originally Posted by midazolam

They should first develop better connecting roads outside the N.C.R. territory before implementing such a plan. The KMP expressway and the Eastern peripheral expressway which have been in the pipeline for ages would have helped in such a situation.

There is much hype about KMP and KGP expressway around Delhi which will act as an outer-outer circle for Delhi and polluting trucks will stay out of geographical boundary of Delhi.

This may be seen as a great idea today but what about tomorrow? These trucks will create pollution along the expressway and which will again affect Delhi/NCR. Air pollution has no boundary. We can't just shift them away.

We have to find long term solution to such issues. We have to quickly adopt stricter pollution norms throughout India, implement traffic rules, invest heavily in public transport in NCR and move towards greener mode of transport.

[outofthebox]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

The more articles I read about the odd-even plan, the more I am led to believe that his decision wasn't backed by data at all.

Here are a few excerpts from a BusinessToday article.

Thanks for sharing this article mate. Just goes to show, that the problem at hand is a difficult one to grasp for the common man, and it seems for the journos too.

Making it an issue of just numbers is over simplifying the problem.

First, a reminder of the problem at hand - unhealthy air quality. This has 3 major constituent groups - SPM, VORs and CO gas.

Over the past 7-8 weeks, of these, the SPM has consistently hit the hazardous levels, most notably PM2.5, which can pass directly through skin and cause a number of health issues to all. VOCs and CO levels have been sporadically high too, but not to the same alarming levels.

Of the vehicles in question, it is diesel vehicles which contribute to PM2.5 levels. Petrol vehicles are not a significant contributor.

So that's one key factor which needs to be taken into consideration while writing such articles.

Second issue is volumetric in nature, but cannot and should not be ignored. Take the case of 2 wheelers, majority of these are commuter type vehicles, with a fuel average which is typically in the range of 50-60kmpl, for some even more. Comparatively speaking, a petrol 4 wheeler's petrol consumption is 4-6 times higher than a two wheeler.

So for a given commute distance, such a two wheeler produces a lot less VOCs and CO compared to a petrol 4 wheeler. That is the real yardstick to be used, as it is bound by laws of chemistry.

Keeping these two key factors in mind, the odd /even scheme leaves out two wheelers and the focus is on diesel vehicles. It is not clear to me how many private 4 wheelers are diesel in Delhi NCR, but I suspect a disproportionally large number, compared to petrol 4 wheelers.

As for people buying extra older cars, they will be buying from the same ecosystem, as re-registration of outside cars old or new has been stopped by the RTO for some time now. I don't see how it impact the total number of cars in use during this 15 day period in any meaningful way.

The author needs to rewrite this article in its entirety and rework the numbers for sure.

[Chetan_Rao]

This happened in Bangalore but I'm sure it's no different in other major Metros. I was on my scooter stuck in thick traffic in rush hour, unfortunately stuck between a REALLY old BMTC bus (the type you could probably dismantle with a hard punch) and a heavily overloaded sand-truck with a punctured exhaust near the fuel tank. Net result, I was almost literally choked to death (ok, a bad coughing fit that took a few minutes to subside later but it could kill someone with chronic asthma).

What rankles me is if the KA govt. nutjobs ever get the same idea, I'll be the one forced off the road while these two morons will continue to ply with gay abandon under official sanction for 'reducing pollution'. The irony could literally kill someone.

[Jeroen]

Where exactly does this area of odd even start?

[Tanmay K]

Just got back from a half an hour drive in Dwarka. I spotted 8 even number cars driving around nonchalantly. The traffic was significantly pleasant, however. Maybe it's not as bad as I thought it would be; the upside of experiencing less traffic everyday vs the inconvenience on some of the days. I could have made a biased observation though, due to the holiday for some of the people today.

Also spotted two parties of traffic cops, one of them giving away challans.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Where exactly does this area of odd even start?

My guess is the area after where you're supposed to pay tolls for entering Delhi.

[lordvader]

Monday is when we will get to know the real impact, once everyone is back and all offices are open.

[dark.knight]

Good luck with the rule, Delhiites, hope enough of them follow it so that it becomes a success for whatever its worth. If violators are at it already then I hope they're fined as prescribed.

[landcruiser123]

I'm not in favour of this policy. The Delhi govt could just start with a congestion tax on certain roads between 8 AM and 8 PM.
That way, you'll be making people car pool and not simply denying people to use their car. Some people will start using public transport if the congestion tax is too much to bear.

Note: Like in the UK, cars with three or more occupants should be exempted from this tax.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

What rankles me is if the KA govt. nutjobs ever get the same idea

Don't worry, not happening in Bangalore. There was a news article which said so. Refer earlier posts on this thread.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

I'm not in favour of this policy. The Delhi govt could just start with a congestion tax on certain roads between 8 AM and 8 PM.
That way, you'll be making people car pool and not simply denying people to use their car. Some people will start using public transport if the congestion tax is too much to bear. .

And how do you propose to collect such tax?

Majority is not in favour of this rule but nobody has a better solution to curb pollution.

This is a temporary rule for and I hope this will bring some relief. At the same time I hope that government also take steps to find permanent solution to this menace.

[nambiarshreyas]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

And how do you propose to collect such tax?

Cant be manually collected for sure, that could only add to the problem. It would have to be driven by technology, I am talking prepaid cards on board the cars and electronic toll payments.
But of course that would need the government to focus on some long term planning and might not be the low hanging fruit that they constantly seek.

[bluevolt]

From the media reports, the odd-even drive seems to be successful.

Tomorrow I need to drive but wouldn't able to because both my cars are odd numbered. Looks like need to uncover and dust off my bike and commute via metro.

Kind of inconvenient though, but for the sake of environment.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

What rankles me is if the KA govt. nutjobs ever get the same idea...

They actually are mulling such a step:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle8047052.ece

And the thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...even-rule.html

I wish the Delhi govt takes on the detractors of this Odd-Even rule head on, instead of going on the defensive. Never lived in Delhi, hence I cannot assess the ground reality, but whatever trickles down through friends, media, etc. makes me believe that the public transport is a lot more efficient compared to the home of India's only profit-making STU (read, the KaSRTC/BMTC).

[embee]

As per MSN news, The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted that it is impossible to implement the odd-even formula permanently in the national capital to curb pollution so the scheme will end on January 15, 2016.

The CM commented that usually such measures are required when the pollution level is higher and the Delhi government will continue to implement such scheme whenever it needed for the betterment of Delhi. The CM has thanked the people, the Delhi traffic police and the media who came forward to make Delhi pollution free.


http://www.msn.com/en-in/news/nation...=mailsignoutmd

[pedrolourenco]

How about a voluntary Odd-Even rule. Even if you state does not enforce it, why not do it yourself and ask family and friends to do the same. Then when your state finally enforces it, you will not find it inconvenient. Besides that you will be contributing in a small way to improve the air quality in your City/Town/Village.