Noida: To ease traffic congestion, 23 routes set for autos and e-rickshaws
These routes, numbered 101 to 123, cover key locations, including markets, malls, residential areas, educational institutions, sectors, and villages, said officers
To ease traffic congestion and improve public transportation in Noida and Greater Noida, the traffic police have made 23 designated routes for auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws on Thursday, said senior traffic police officers, adding that this initiative will go a long way in resolving jams near malls and prominent markets.
The traffic police on Thursday held a meeting with auto unions and e-rickshaw drivers and asked them to cooperate to improve commuter convenience in the city. These routes, numbered 101 to 123, cover key locations, including markets, malls, residential areas, educational institutions, sectors, and villages, said officers.
“We held a meeting with the auto unions and e-rickshaw drivers and drew up 23 designated routes in Noida and Greater Noida. The autos and e-rickshaws plying on these routes have been given specific numbers.For example, 101 will be from Sector 37 to Jhundpura via Sector 15; while 102 will be from Sector 37 to Kalindi Kunj, 103 from Sector 37 to Sector 125 Amity University; 104 from Attapeer to Sector 37; 105 from Model Town to Sector 37, and so on and so forth,” said Yamuna Prasad, deputy commissioner of police, traffic.
The DCP said, “These route restrictions may not apply to autos and e-rickshaws reserved by a passenger in advance. This is to ensure that passengers who book rides for specific destinations can still avail of direct transportation. For example, if a person books an auto from Sector 18 to Sector 30, they can still make that journey.”
With approximately 20,000 registered auto-rickshaws in Gautam Budh Nagar permitted to operate within a 16km radius, including areas such as Noida City Centre, Phase 2, Dadri, and Surajpur, the designated routes will primarily be used by shared autos, which make up nearly 10% of the total number of autos in the district.
“There are 20,000 autos registered in the district. These autos have permits to ply within a 16km radius. We met the traffic police and informed them that all autos can’t ply on permitted routes, and they have agreed to that,” said Om Prakash Gurjar, president, Noida Auto Union.
E-rickshaw drivers also agreed to the routes set for them and said such an initiative can streamline their operations and avoid overcrowding on specific routes. “I have been given the 105 route. It is good for e-rickshaw drivers to drive on designated routes to avoid crowding and congestion,” said Ajay Kumar, an e-rickshaw driver.
According to the transport department data, there are nearly 21,000 registered e-rickshaws in the city.
Brajesh Sharma, who is part of the 7x welfare group, which is working to improve the traffic situation in Noida, said, “This is a good initiative by traffic police, but they need to cap the number of e-rickshaws on each route. For example, if 101 route has 50 e-rickshaws and 102 route has 90, there will be traffic congestion on 102 route.”
Naman Gupta, a resident of Sector 15, said, “I hope that this initiative will decongest major congestion points. Whenever I return home, I get stuck in jams near Botanical Garden, Sector 18 and 16 metro stations where e-rickshaws gather in large numbers.”