3rd round of odd-even announced

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government on Thursday announced the third round of odd-even in the national capital to be implemented between November 13 and November 17 (Monday-Friday). The scheme, however, like its previous two editions last year, exempts two-wheelers and vehicles driven by women (with only women passengers and children below the age of 12 years).

It does not allow app-based aggregators such as Ola-Uber to go on 'surge pricing', as was the case last year. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot will hold a meeting with taxi and auto union operators on Friday to ensure they dont overcharge passengers.

The 'emergency' measure is rolled out under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to curb the soaring pollution levels.

"The scheme will be observed between 8 am and 8 pm. The exemptions will be the same as last year, as we don't want people to panic," said Gahlot.

In order to prepare for the scheme, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has been asked to hire 500 private buses. The odd-even scheme aims at encouraging commuters to take to public transport.

Besides this, the Delhi Metro has also been asked to run additional trips and provide 100 feeder buses during this period.

The scheme also exempts CNG-run vehicles, only if they bear stickers stating the same. The stickers are available at CNG pumps and even those with last year's stickers will be valid.

VIP vehicles, ambulances, fire brigade vans, ambulances, hearse vans, Delhi Police cars, Army vehicles, emergency services vehicles, and embassy vehicles will all also be allowed to ply on any day. Battery-opearted vehicles are exempted, too.

The scheme had failed in 2016 in absence of a robust public transport system, receiving much flak from public. The minister had discussed implementation of the scheme with officials of the transport department in a meeting on 23 October.