Odd-even II: Empty streets in Noida, real test on Monday

On the first day of implementation of odd-even formula in Delhi, a public holiday, streets of the satellite city were empty. No traffic jams were witnessed even during the peak hours at Noida-Delhi borders at Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway, Okhla bridge, Sector 14 A, Chilla border, Haridarshan Chowki and other areas.

“Nearly 1.70 lakh vehicles travel between Noida and Delhi every day. This also triggers jam at Noida-Greater Noida expressway and other areas. During the odd even rule, only of the vehicles are seen on the roads. Also, the roads are vacant due to a public holiday,” said Sanjay Singh, superintendent of police (traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar.

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He said the real test of commuters on odd-even rule will be on Monday.

“From Monday, we will have to keep an eye on the bordering areas and parking of the Metro stations where commuters often park their cars at restricted places. So far, no such incident has been reported as there is still space in the parking spaces of Metro stations,” Singh said.

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) have deployed 50 additional buses and the UP roadways have deployed 10 additional buses to facilitate commuters during odd-even rule. The buses will go for 100 sorties between the two cities.

Some of the employees of MNCs at Noida, who reside in Delhi, have also started using shuttle services from Friday morning. Many opted for carpools.

“The first morning of odd-even was hassle free. All employees reached office before time. Additional shuttle service was deployed at Metro stations by many organizations This service will continue depending on the number of employees,” said Ajit Kumar Pandey, member of facility management zone (FMZ), an organization of facility managers of MNCs.

More than 5,000 executives of MNCs, BPOs and IT companies of the twin cities have already registered for CNG-run shuttles ahead of the odd-even rule.