Delhi tries ‘car rationing’ to combat pollution

Delhi has introduced ‘car rationing’ in a bid to battle the Indian capital’s ongoing pollution problem, allowing drivers to use roads only on alternate days.
November 4, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Electric vehicles, public transport, emergency vehicles, taxis and two-wheelers are exempt - but the days on which people can drive other vehicles from 4-15 November will depend on their number plates, according to a BBC report.

Private cars ending in odd numbers will only be able to drive on odd days (e.g. 5 November, 7 November) while those ending in zero or even numbers can only use the roads on even dates (e.g. 4 November, 6 November).

The restrictions run from 8am-8pm, Monday-Saturday, with Sunday free for all. Vehicles which run on compressed natural gas are not exempt. Fines of 4,000 rupees ($56) will be levied on drivers who ignore the ban.

The system has been used before in Delhi, in 2016 and 2017, as levels of dangerous PM2.5 particles are well above recommended limits, the BBC says. But there are concerns that the car rationing scheme may not solve the problem – although it will reduce congestion.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the city has been turned into a ‘gas chamber’.

Delhi was among the cities signing up to a pledge on clearn air earlier this year. Air quality is an issue that has come to prominence in the ITS industry, with transport technology seen as having the potential to provide some of the answers.

The 1819 World Health Organisation says that nine out of 10 citizens around the world breathe dirty air, with seven million dying prematurely each year due to air pollution.
 

 

Air Quality & Weather Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK trial of electric cars proves they are greener
    June 14, 2013
    Experts leading a major three-year trial into the impact of electric vehicles and the role they could play in our transport systems of the future, have shown that rolling them out across our city’s roads would protect both our health and the environment. Data gathered and analysed by transport experts at the UK’s Newcastle University shows that daytime air pollution levels in our towns and cities regularly exceed the Government’s recommended 40µg m-3 (21 parts per billion) for prolonged periods, putting peo
    Read More
  • Birmingham to open Clean Air Zone in 2021
    October 14, 2020
    Hydrogen buses will also start operating in the UK city from next year
    Read More
  • Many happy returns for McCain
    May 21, 2012
    It was 25 years ago, when a gallon of gas cost only $1.09, that Jeffrey L McCain founded the leading supplier of traffic equipment, intelligent transportation solutions, and parking guidance that bears his name. So there’s cause for celebration at the McCain booth at this year’s ITS America Annual Meeting and a great big birthday cake cutting ceremony which delegates are were invited to attend yesterday afternoon.
    Read More
  • Green light for Google self-driving vehicle prototypes
    May 18, 2015
    Google has announced the next step in its autonomous vehicle program and is about to begin testing its new prototype self-driving vehicles on public roads. This summer, the company will move its cars from the test track to the roads with safety drivers aboard. The company has been rigorously testing the cars at its test facilities for several years. The new prototypes are based on the company’s existing fleet of self-driving Lexus RX450h SUVs, which has logged nearly a million autonomous miles and recen
    Read More

Highlighted Content