Ways to Hit the Odd/Even Car Days in Delhi
Come Jan.1, private vehicles in Delhi will only be permitted on the roads on alternate days – and which ones will depend on their license plate number.
The stir is designed to curb pollution in the capital by making cars with odd numbered plates take turns for time on the road with autos that have license plates ending in even figures.
The government plans to pilot the method, dubbed the “odd-even rule,” for two weeks to see if it makes a difference to Delhi’s pollution problem and to test whether commuters will cope with the switch to their routine.
Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister, suggested closing schools during the fourteen days to ease the cargo on parents who wondered how they would get their kids to school and to free up buses for other commuters to use.
Here are some options for how to treat those two weeks if you usually drive, or are driven, in Delhi.
one Find an Odd or Even Friend as Necessary Share on Twitter
Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said last week that because the city’s public transport system is so inadequate, the only practical solution during the two week driving limitation, is carpooling.
Mr. Kejriwal said that he and his ministers would share cars into their offices.
If you can find a friend who shares a similar commuting route to you but has a license plate that permits you both to drive on alternate days, you’ve got this system cracked.
two Let Technology Take the Strain Share on Twitter
Uber Technologies Inc. launched its carpooling service in Delhi on Wednesday. It permits Uber users to hail a rail through its budget option uberGO and share the car with another passenger going the same way.
For the very first time in India, private-car owners can sign up on the Uber platform and give a rail to someone else for a fee. Uber said it would take 20% commission on every rail and fares were likely to be 10-30% cheaper than a normal journey facilitated by the company.
A spokeswoman for Uber in India said Tuesday the company was still working out the pricing mechanism. Those wanting to become Uber drivers with their own private cars must submit documents like a valid Photo ID, proof the vehicle is fit to drive and their license.
Until now, Uber has only permitted commercial vehicle drivers to sign up onto its platform in India.
Uber and other app-based ride-hailing services have faced significant regulatory hurdles to their operation in Delhi, including a ban on those without a radio-dispatched taxi license. Uber and its main rival in India, ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.’s Ola have not so far been granted this kind of license in Delhi.
The Uber spokeswoman said the company had conducted extensive discussions with the Delhi government. “They are supportive of our attempts to make carpooling effortless and affordable,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Delhi transport department couldn’t be reached for comment.
Ola too launched a “Share” feature on its app in Delhi on Wednesday to match users traveling on the same routes and help them share rails. The service is already in use in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.
three Rent a Car Share on Twitter
Need to drive on a particular day but don’t have a car with the right license plate? Delhi-based car rental service Voler says it has the reaction: Rent one.
Voler takes a Five,000 rupees ($74.80) security deposit and charges two hundred rupees to have the car delivered to the customer’s doorstep if the booking is for less than two days. The minimum rental time is four hours.
The tariff is set on an hourly basis and depends on the type of car. The cheapest rental price on suggest is for Tata Motors Ltd.’s Nano at thirty rupees an hour. A Maruti Suzuki’s Swift hatchback costs fifty five rupees to rent for an hour. Toyota’s hefty Fortuner SUV costs two hundred ten rupees an hour.
four Take the Bus Share on Twitter
Delhi’s government plans to add 6,000 buses to the city’s public transport system during the two-week pilot, doubling the existing fleet. During a press briefing last week, Gopal Rai, the state’s transport minister said the Delhi Transport Corporation, or DTC, would commission private and school buses to add to the stock. One third of the buses will have half of their seats reserved for women, Mr. Rai said. There are five hundred fifty bus routes across the city.
Drivers of these private buses will be screened by transport authorities before they hit the road, a spokesman for DTC said Tuesday.
Delhi buses cost inbetween five and fifteen rupees depending on the distance of the travel. The fares for air-conditioned buses range inbetween ten and twenty five rupees.
five Hop on the Metro Share on Twitter
The city’s metro system has one hundred sixty stations spanning over one hundred thirty miles and reaches out to the satellite cities of Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.
Since it very first embarking running in 2002, the metro has tempered pollution levels by getting cars off the road.
Latest research conducted by Deepti Goel, an economics professor at the Delhi School of Economics and Sonam Gupta, who works for IMPAQ International, a U.S.-based public policy research rigid, found that, after the Delhi metro opened, carbon monoxide levels fell 34% inbetween two thousand four and two thousand six at a major traffic intersection in the city. The researchers attributed the drop to a significant increase in metro ridership in that area.
Click here to find out how long your journey via metro would take and what it would cost.