EDITORIALS

Taking Cars Off the Road

Delhis proposal to take cars off the road may only be a band-aid, but it must be allowed to work.

n early December, Delhis High Court first took matters into

hand. It described Delhi as a gas chamber and asked the
citys government to submit time-bound plans on managing
pollution by 21 December 2015. Road space rationing is one of
the responses of the Delhi government to the courts injunctions.
The Government of Delhis proposal to have vehicles (cars and
two-wheelers) with odd/even numbers run on alternate days
has been greeted with a volley of criticism on the airwaves, in
social media and in print expressed by those who depend on
personal transport, not by those who live and work in the open
in the gas chamber.
While Delhis roads teem with cars, a fetid smog hangs almost
permanently over its air, especially in the winters. The recently
instituted National Air Quality Index has reserved its worst
for Delhis air, which it ranks as severe on most days and
very poor on others. According to the index, Delhis air was
severe on 20 days in November with PM 2.5 levels going above
500 microgram/cubic metre. The World Health Organization
(WHO) has set 25 microgram/cubic metre as a safe standard for
these extremely fine particles that issue from the tail pipes of
vehicles, especially those that run on diesel and from other
operations that involve burning fuel. Indias Central Pollution
Control Board has a far lenient standard of 60 microgram/
cubic metre. On most days, PM 2.5 in Delhis air is six times
more than even this relaxed standard.
The WHO and other health agencies incriminate PM 2.5 for a
host of health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular
ailments. Beijing authorities issued an emergency alert when
the citys PM 2.5 count went up to 390 microgram/cubic metre.
In its 4 December announcement, the Delhi government claimed
that allowing a car to run on alternate days would reduce pollution
by 50%. The formula has been tried out with mixed results in
different parts of the world, including Beijing, Mexico City and
Paris. Some parts of Delhiand Gurgaonhave observed car-free
days in the past few months and there has been appreciable
decline in pollution levels during those days. But Delhiin
fact all Indian citiesrequires much more than road rationing
to bring down pollution to bearable levels over the long term.
A robust public transport is the first amongst essentials. Public
transport meets more than 60% of Delhis demands but occupies only 5% of the roads. Allocating more space to public transport, however, is not going to be enough. Experience around the
world also shows that a healthy public transport system does
not always wean people off cars. A recent study claims road
rationing did not improve Mexico Citys air quality, in spite of
8

the citys efficient public transport system, because the rich

went ahead and bought another car. Economists hold that an
ascendant middle class will remain besotted with cars unless
it is deterred.
Today, there is much that car owners take for granted. For
example, cars in most Indian cities are driven only 5% of
the time. The rest of the time they occupy valuable real estate
for which owners sometimes pay a pittancemost times they
do not. This perverse subsidy must end. Legal parking areas
need to be limited and clearly demarcated. London and Singapore used congestion taxes to rein in cars.
There is, of course, no one-size-fits-all formula. The proposal
also targets two-wheelers, preferred mode of convenience of
many service workersrepairmen, sales executives. Should
they bear an equal burden? However, it is also clear that spaces
have to be snatched away from cars if air and landscapes are to
remain healthy.
Immediately after the Aam Aadmi Party government made its
first announcement, it faced a volley of criticism. People went
berserk on social media. The naysayers were a variety: those
who felt the move would be counterproductive as the rich
would buy more cars, the ones who felt road rationing would
tax the already overburdened public transport system and those
who gave examples of similar moves not working elsewhere. A
well-known pulp fiction writerwho also fancies himself as a
political commentatoreven tweeted that road rationing could
seriously jeopardise the countrys economic development. The
Union Minister of Surface Transport Kiren Rijiju questioned the
Delhi governments jurisdiction over the matter.
Notwithstanding the merit in some of the criticism, the sharp
reaction has highlighted that Delhis middle classpossibly the
middle class in the rest of the country tooloves its automobiles. According to the Delhi governments data, the city
adds 1,400 vehicles every daymore than 5 lakh a year, nearly
3,70,000 of which are private vehicles. Middle class Delhi also
fancies its diesel carsa large number of them SUVs.
Last heard, the Delhi government was on the back foot over
road rationing. A pity. Jettisoning the move, without giving it a fair
try, would be akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Delhis air needs much more than allowing a car to run on
alternate days. The formula is, at best, a short-term band-aid.
But it is a good beginning and should be given a chance to
work. It must precede more long-term measures encouraging
public transport, disincentives to private transport and eventually better urban planning.
decEMBER 12, 2015

vol l no 50

EPW

Economic & Political Weekly