Monday will be a smooth ride despite odd-even, assures AAP govt

Appealing car owners to continue supporting the odd-even scheme in order to improve the quality of air in the city, transport minister Gopal Rai asked people to pool cars with their neighbours and friends.

Appealing car owners to continue supporting the odd-even scheme in order to improve the quality of air in the city, transport minister Gopal Rai asked people to pool cars with their neighbours and friends.

Urging Delhi Police to deploy additional 100 teams to maintain law and order, Rai alleged that some people are planning to create disturbance on Monday (PTI)

Rai, however, claimed that all necessary arrangements have been made to accommodate the extra rush of commuters in Metro and city buses and.

“As per the feedback, about 80% of those who left their cars back home on the first two days opted for carpooling. I would appeal car owners to follow the trend… People can also use the additional carpooling feature on the PoochO app. Around 4,000 people have already registered on the app for the purpose,” Rai told reporters, after holding an hour-long meeting with the coordination committee constituted for implementation of the scheme.

The minister, however, said carrying capacity of the buses and metro have been increased by 32% and 20% respectively for Monday. “The carrying capacity of buses has been increased from the existing 48 lakh to 64 lakh per day. Similarly, Delhi Metro will make extra trips thus increasing its strength from existing 26 lakh to 32 lakh,” Rai said.

However, the minister refused to reveal the exact number of additional buses that would be on duty on Monday. The minister alleged attempts are still being made to pressure the school managements to withdraw their buses registered for the scheme.

The transport department, Rai said, has also made four dedicated squads of 25 buses each to cater to areas where demand for buses is more. “These teams would be in reserve and would be deployed where ever the need be,” he added.

Urging Delhi Police to deploy additional 100 teams to maintain law and order, Rai alleged that some people are planning to create disturbance on Monday. “I was tagged in a tweet that said some people are likely to come in the city from Meerut especially to create disturbance. I will speak to the police commissioner (BS Bassi) to deploy extra teams,” Rai said.