: The first avatar of Delhi’s odd-even car-rationing plan, implemented between January 1 and 15, not only resulted in a drop in the volume of traffic on roads but also higher occupancy of cars and a slight shift towards public transport, according to a study conducted by the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) — both before and during the scheme.
The ‘Traffic Survey and Travel Attributes Study’, conducted by the SPA’s Department of Transport Planning, reveals that traffic had gone down substantially even in areas that were perennially choked with traffic, such as ITO.
Another important finding was that the occupancy rates of cars had gone up during that period.
The survey said that the volume of traffic decreased by eight to 16 per cent during the experiment.
The survey also noted that the occupancy of cars had gone up from an average of 1.4 persons per car to 1.9 to 2. Going by the figures, it is evident that many Delhiites had shifted to car pooling during that period.
While opting for alternate mode of transport instead of personal vehicles, Delhi Metro topped the choice of Delhiites, followed by auto-rickshaws, taxis and car-pool.
The survey also revealed that areas with good Metro connectivity, such as the commercial hubs in Connaught Place and ITO saw a significant drop in the number of private cars but the share of private cars in traffic on the Gurgaon expressway had not dipped much and was still more than 50 per cent.
The lack of last-mile connectivity from Delhi Metro stations in Gurgaon is the reason why people going to Gurgaon still preferred cars over the Metro.
The survey also revealed that almost 25 per cent of all cars are now run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Another finding suggested that though women-only cars have been exempted from the odd-even plan, the number of cars driven by women was found to be negligible.
