Second phase of the odd-even car rationing scheme in the city does not seem to have gone well with a large number of Delhiites as the AAP government had not been able to put in place proper public tra
Second phase of the odd-even car rationing scheme in the city does not seem to have gone well with a large number of Delhiites as the AAP government had not been able to put in place proper public transport system for commuters during office hours.
There is more resistance from people and more anger on the streets. The Phase 2 of the experiment started on a holiday, but yet there were 1,300-odd challans on Day One. The first round in January was relatively smooth — the number of challans picked up sharply only on the first normal weekday after the odd-even scheme got rolling. This could be because, like some caught driving the wrong vehicle on the wrong day alleged, the AAP government had failed to publicise its move the way it did last time. Or it could be that the novelty factor in the experiment is wearing off and thus the excitement is missing.
Most of the commuters complained that the Kejriwal government had failed to provide alternative means of transport or improvise the current options. “The odd-even scheme is a novel idea but it is hardly being fruitful for Delhi. Mostly it is not even helping in decongesting the roads as it did the first time, Before even thinking of the odd-even Phase 3, Mr Kejriwal should work to improve the public transport system,” Robin Sharma, who has been using shared cab services for transport these days, said.
Some Delhiites also said the reason the scheme is not a success this time around is because in the winter season the commuters were more willing to forego the luxury of a cab and catch Metro to their destination.
“In winters, it is not too much of a problem to use public transport instead of taking own car, but in summers it is very difficult to wait in the harsh sun for a bus or sharing an auto,” said Supreet Singh, a resident of south Delhi.
The effective implementation of the odd-even car rationing scheme requires the autorickshaw service to work properly. Instead, they ended up leaving a lot of passengers in dire straits. They had called a strike on Monday and withdrew it before noon. However, the services were far from normal. There were fewer number of autos on the roads than usual and many were either overcharging passengers or rejecting them outright.
