“Regulation” and “decongestion” were the keywords to have emerged from the field of urban transport, while alternative, public and commercial modes of transportation dominated discourse pertaining to it during the year that went by.
Even as Delhi’s total road length remained the same, its vehicular population, according to government statistics, registered an increase of 5.19 lakh. This pushes the total number of vehicles registered in Delhi from 77.74 lakh till 2012-13 to 82.93 lakh till 2013-14. The National Green Tribunal came to the government’s rescue in the form of a 14-point order, announced in late November. It included suggestions like hiking of parking rates, congestion tax to dissuade use of personal vehicles given their effect on emission levels and total ban on vehicles older than 15 years from plying.
Delhi’s burgeoning private cab scene, exemplified by popularity of app-based cab and radio taxi services like Ola and Mega, was something the Delhiites had come to rely on. However, after the legality of battery-operated e-rickshaws reached the High Court, Delhi was jolted by the rape of a 27-year-old by an Uber taxi driver earlier this month.
The rape exposed the lacunae in licensing and issuance of permits to cab drivers, and brought loopholes in police verification procedures to the fore.
The Transport Department cracked down on all such service providers and formulated more stringent guidelines to govern their operations. This was followed by a ban on taxi aggregator services in many cities in the country before the government finally came out with the required modifications in the laws of the land.
Major modifications made to the Radio Taxi Scheme, 2006, following a ban on Uber allowed aggregators of taxis as well as entities operating through web-based apps to operate, subject to conditions stipulated under the MV and the Information Technology Acts. The step also ostensibly aimed at opening up the sector to what a source described as “groups of indigenous drivers, competitive services and more employment opportunities” by relaxation of cab fleets sizes from 500 to 200 cars.
The Delhi Metro registered record ridership during the year — especially during this year’s instalment of the India International Trade Fair. It seemingly became the preferred mode of public transport in Delhi, even as the latter’s usage of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses plummeted by nearly 3.3 lakh commuters per day.
The extension of the metro’s Heritage Line saw extension of the Violet Line to Mandi House, which was instrumental in decongesting stations like Rajiv Chowk and Central Secretariat. The metro also began running trial runs between Mandi House and ITO stations in December.
Meanwhile, the DTC flagged off its service to Kathmandu and moved forward with a proposal to add over 1,300 buses to its fleet of low-floor buses, install CCTVs and GPS devices, and attempted to become more gender-inclusive by commencing an apprenticeship programme for women drivers.
After operations of e-rickshaws were banned by the Delhi High Court, the government in mid-December came out with a list of 236 arterial stretches that will remain off-limits for the battery-operated vehicles.
An announcement to this effect was made by the Transport Department through a notification issued under Section 115 of the Motor Vehicle Act. While the Section imposes restrictions on their movement, it simultaneously allows them to legally ply in a few selected pockets “subject to exceptions and conditions”.
The Traffic Police began dedicated drives against vehicular congestion in and around popular city markets in a phased manner on a daily basis as opposed to penal action only over the weekend. Moreover, technology came to the aid of the Traffic Police with e-challaning enabling instant prosecution, the induction of speed interceptors to rein-in the Capital’s speed demons as well as Segway scooters to enable better patrolling of congested areas.
