Odd-even formula: A guide to how Delhi's new traffic experiment will work

On the first day of the New Year, Delhi will start its 15-day trial of the odd-even formula, under which cars with odd and even number plates will be allowed to ply on the roads only on alternate days. Here is a check of the arrangements and precautions for the 15-day ‘experiment’.

The formula
Cars with odd registration plates will be allowed only on odd dates, and even ones on even dates. On Sundays, all cars will be allowed.

The precautions
Violators of the rule will attract a fine of Rs 2,000. According to some media reports, the government has also ordered parking lots in the city not to allow the violators to use the parking space.

The exceptions
Some vehicles like those associated with medical emergency — ambulances, hearse vans, etc, will be exempt. Among other vehicles exempt from the rule will be those of very important persons (VIPs), CNG cars, two-wheelers, cars driven by women (either alone or with children under 12 years of age).

The preparations
The Delhi government had recently announced 6,000 new buses would be added to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) fleet, on a contract basis. Of these, 3000 have already been acquired and employed. Schools are to remain closed till January 15; their buses are likely to be pressed into service as well.

Delhi Metro pitches in
For the 15 days of the trial period, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will run 3,192 trips a day, against 2,827 it ran during a similar period in January 2015. For this, DMRC is going to use 198 trains daily. It will also deploy guards/customer facilitation agents (CFA) at major stations in additional shifts, to help and guide commuters, besides additional manpower to handle the ticketing system. For record, the highest number of passengers carried by Delhi Metro in a day has been 3.18 million, on August 28.

Other measures
On December 16, the SC had doubled the environment compensation charge for loaded commercial vehicles entering Delhi and imposed a blanket ban on registration of diesel vehicles of and above 2,000 cc in Delhi. The order had come soon after the Court’s order that all taxis in the NCR must convert to CNG by March 31.

Machinery in place
According to traffic police data, their current estimated personnel strength stands between 5,000 and 6,000. Of this, according to media reports in October, only around 3,000 were available for day shifts. Some 40 officers meant to be part of the odd-even drive, however, have gone on a mass leave to protest suspension of some of their colleagues by the Delhi government.

Public transport strength
According to Delhi Traffic Police data, there are about 10 million registered vehicles in the city, including nearly 125,000 autorickshaws (81,269 of these to carry passengers), 10,000 taxis and 5,000 local buses. On average, 540,000 vehicles are registered in the city annually.