An odd formula

To tackle an alarmingly high pollution level in the capital, the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi on Friday announced private cars with odd and even registration plates will be allowed to ply on roads on alternate days from January 1. CNG-driven buses, taxis and autorickshaws will be exempt from the decision. In another move, the Delhi government decided to shut NTPC's coal-based Badarpur power plant in the city. Here is a snapshot of the traffic situation in Delhi, and other cities of the world that have tried traffic rationing.

DELHI'S CONGESTION

• 2.6 mn: Number of private passenger cars registered in Delhi as of March 2015
• 182,115: Number of passenger vehicles sold in 2014-15
• 245 per km: Vehicle density in Delhi-NCR
• 10 times: Delhi's pollution, at *PM2.5, is 10 times higher than the WHO- prescribed limit

CLEAN COMPANY

• Mexico City: The first city to adopt a policy to allow vehicles with odd and even numbers on alternate days. The restrictions have been in force since the late 1989s
• Manila: The capital was the first Philippine city to adopt a rationing policy in 1995. Following its success, the policy was extended to Baguio, Cabanatuan and Dagupan
• Beijing: On July 20, 2008, it implemented temporary road space rationing to improve air quality during the 2008 Summer Olympics. The two-month success story prompted a permanent policy from October 2008

SHORT RESTRICTIONS

• Nepal: An odd-even number-plate system for plying of vehicles was enforced in Nepal on September 27 this year, amid acute fuel crisis. The move was rolled back after 3 days
• France: The country imposed a 24-hour odd-even driving restriction on March 23 this year. Such one-day steps, to reduce pollution, had been taken in the country a couple of times in the past, too

cSource: Siam, Delhi government, industry, media reports
*Particulate matter