Odd-Even Scheme In Delhi Starts Today, Electric Vehicles Exempted, 200 Police Teams Deployed

With an aim to control the rapid growing pollution level, the Delhi government has rolled out the much anticipated Odd-Even scheme from today. This will be the third time that the government has started the scheme aiming to curb the carbon emission. The scheme will be applicable from 8 am to 8 pm. It will not be effective on Sunday, November 10.

The Delhi government has also decided to exempt electric vehicles from the odd-even road rationing scheme. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot in a statement said that the number of registered electric vehicles in the city was less than 1,000 and they are not likely to cause any congestion.

It has, therefore, been decided to exempt the electric vehicles from the odd-even restrictions," he said.

Under the scheme, vehicles having odd and even last digits of registration number will ply on odd and even dates, respectively. The scheme will conclude on November 15.            

The electric vehicles were not included in the list of exempted vehicles mentioned in the notification issued by the Delhi government for implementation of the odd-even scheme.

The Delhi Traffic Police, on the other hand, will deploy 200 teams for smooth implementation of the odd-even scheme.

 “We will deploy 200 teams across the city for smooth implementation of the odd-even scheme,” Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Taj Hassan said.              

According to officials, each team will consist of four traffic police personnel who will keep a tab on violators and take strict action them.

Violators will be punished with a fine of Rs 4,000. Traffic head constables and officials above, sub divisional magistrates and tehsildars, assistant traffic inspectors and ranks above in DTC have been authorised to issue challans to violators, officials said.

Under the scheme, which will be implemented from 8 am to 8 pm till November 15, non-transport four-wheeler vehicles with registration number ending in odd digit (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) will be prohibited on November 4, 6, 8, 12 and 14.

Similarly, vehicles with registration number ending with even digit (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) will be prohibited on November 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. These restrictions will also apply to the vehicles bearing registration numbers of other states.

Cab aggregators Ola and Uber have also said that they will not resort to surge pricing during the 12-day odd-even road rationing scheme.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Ola said it will extend its support to the Delhi government’s initiative to curb pollution. The implementation of the odd-even scheme offers an opportunity to further unlock the potential of shared mobility.

“Continuing our efforts to provide commuters an optimum and seamless experience, we will have no peak pricing on rides booked on the Ola platform during the odd-even period. We encourage all driver-partners, passengers, and citizens to participate and make the third edition of the scheme, a success,” Arun Srinivas, the chief sales and marketing officer at Ola, said.

Last month, Uber had announced to deactivate surge pricing during the implementation of odd-even scheme in the national capital.

“We want to do our part in ensuring movement around the city is easy during the odd-even phase and have decided to deactivate dynamic pricing for the duration. We wholeheartedly support Delhi government’s move and wish it success,” an Uber spokesperson told PTI last month.

The odd-even scheme is a much needed step to reduce pollution and help reduce congestion in the capital, the spokesperson had said.

Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that surge pricing would not be applied by app-based cabs during the odd-even scheme.

According to the Delhi government, advisories have also been issued to autorickshaws and e-rickshaws to avoid over-charging from commuters.

An Ola spokesperson said the company will also work closely with its driver-partners to ensure maximum availability of vehicles during peak hours as well as during the staggered office timings.

The odd-even scheme was notified on Friday by the Delhi government. Odd and even numbered (last digit of registration number) vehicles ply on alternate days of the scheme.

The government has not exempted CNG-driven private vehicles from odd-even scheme this time. It has, however, exempted two-wheelers that form around 88 per cent of total registered vehicles plying on the city roads