Odd-even drive wraps up

It is still a moot point if pollution levels fell during the period but Delhi’s odd-even experiment has still made a connect with its motorists.

The 15-day trial phase now comes to an end on Friday and cars will be back in full strength on the roads next week. What has come through clearly is that the initiative helped in easier flow of traffic and made parking more comfortable.

Will the Delhi government now go all out to make the odd-even rule a more permanent fixture? This is still unclear since it will, in all likelihood, use the lessons of this 15-day period to perhaps think of other alternatives for people to get around.

The truth is that Delhi’s air is dangerously polluted which prompted the Supreme Court to ban 2000cc plus diesel vehicles for three months. The odd-even rule was the State government’s answer in taking on the problem but clearly a lot more needs to be done.

Public transport, in the form of the Metro and buses, is already under tremendous pressure which has compelled people to opt for two-wheelers and cars. Women’s safety is another issue which was the reason why women were exempt from the odd-even rule in the first place.

Going forward, other solutions will have to be thought of in order to combat the menace of vehicle emissions. The good thing, however, is that not everybody thought the 15-day experiment was a bad idea. In the process, some of them would hopefully be galvanised into creating car pools and doing their bit to clean Delhi’s air.

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