Delhi Odd Even Formula needs Customized Bus Services for working class

Delhi Odd Even Formula

Pollution in Delhi has reached the levels beyond which it could be a serious health hazard for the society. Govt of Delhi has announced several steps to bring the situation under control, one of which being the odd even formula. Private vehicle owners will now run only on alternate days based on the last digit of their number plate. The Delhi odd even formula is currently being debated in public. Majority of those opposing this decision are looking for some practical alternative that can address their concerns. Here is one that I would like to suggest.

Most of these people belong working class that has a fixed route and more or less fixed schedule of travel. Car pooling is an alternative that people are working upon. The other alternative could be running customized buses for this working class. The routes and timings be designed based on inputs of commuters. Let me explain it further.

The govt of Delhi should make a public announcement of an app or website where everyone can put in their route and timings of daily travel. Based on their inputs people can be divided into groups that travel via same route at around same time daily. Having achieved the number of seat capacity of a bus, a bus may be alloted to a group. It may not be practical to pickup everyone from his home and drop at his working place but pickup and destination points can be customized to keep a balance on convenience of commuters and the travel time. These buses may be GPS enabled so that all users are updated about location of bus in real-time. The commuters may pay for their monthly travel in advance.

If a system of public transport like this works out people may well prefer it over their personal vehicles.

The next question would be availability of buses and their viability. This can be run as a pilot project with a few buses. After dropping the last person in the group and before the first pickup these buses may be offered some route where they can run as a public transport vehicle. Govt may well run this project on PPP model if it lacks the resources to try such service.