Odd-even phase II had trivial impact on traffic as compared to phase I, shows CRRI study

A day after the Delhi government's own report claimed that the second phase of the odd-even was successful, but marred due to schools being open, a report by the Central Road Research Institute ( CRRI) suggests that even the impact on traffic was minuscule.

The report, which is based on a study carried out by the CRRI under the director, Dr Satish Chandra, during the odd-even fortnight, found a stark difference between the impact of the first odd-even fortnight and the second one, in April.

The study, which was conducted to measure the impact of the odd-even policy on traffic volume and speed characteristics on the road network, mapped two arterial roads of the city- Inner and Outer Ring Road, and compared the impact of the two phases.

Dr Kavitha Ravinder of CRRI said, “There is a significant difference in the impact on traffic volume and speed levels of the two odd-even phases. While the scheme in January had huge impact on the speed- it went up by 47 per cent, the scheme in April saw the speed reduced to 23 per cent on the Inner Ring Road and 14 per cent on the Outer Ring Road." The levels are measured against the traffic volume and speed characteristics of normal days.

It's not just speed levels which did not show a significant change. According to the study, which was carried out on April 28 and 29, the impact was felt on the traffic volume as well. “In phase II, the total traffic reduction was only around 10-12 per cent. The reduction in car traffic was only 15 per cent," said Dr Ravinder, who conducted the study . In contrast, the traffic volume reduced to 20 per cent during the first phase, with the percentage of cars on road reduced to 30 per cent. “This measure may give results in the short run but not in the long run," he added.