Delhiites divided over government’s car rationing measure

New Delhi, Jan. 1 : As Delhi government ‘s car rationing experiment came into force on New Year’s Day today, it evoked a mixed response, with some welcoming it, and others flouting the rules.Under the odd-even initiative, fuel-based private vehicles with odd and even numbers will run on alternate days, even numbered vehicles on even dates and odd numbered on odd dates, on a trial basis for a fortnight beginning Friday.The car rationing will not apply on Sundays. Through the ambitious measure, the government hopes to bring down vehicular emissions – arguably one of the largest causes of air pollution in the city – by half.A driver, Rohit Sharma, was delighted to see fewer cars on Delhi’s congested roads.”There has been no problem so far. We are going to Jaipur and the flow of traffic has been very smooth so far,” said Sharma. “Yes, there is very less traffic on the roads today,” added Sharma.In order to ensure that the car rationing initiative has a smooth run, 3,000 buses have been added to the fleet of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the frequency of the metro trains has been increased.