New Delhi [Sanjeev Gupta]. Delhi Metro News:  Corona has changed not only the routines of people but also the nature and preferences of their transportation. Now people are preferring to travel by private vehicles rather than public. People are not averse to cycling as well as walking for short distance travel. The metro is not operational, but even after it is started, the number of passengers is likely to remain very low. Indeed, the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) has conducted a study by taking data on the changed modes of transport in Delhi-NCR after the lockdown opened through Google Mobility Data.
Increased dependence on private vehicles
A study of the data has revealed that fear of Corona infection is reducing the use of public transport, while increasing dependence on private vehicles. Public transport has only buses, the metro is closed. Barely 27 percent people will travel in buses for the next six months. Similarly, even after running the metro, only 10 percent people will climb in it compared to the earlier 30 percent passengers.
Auto and e-rickshaws used 10-15 percent
On the other hand, the use of the car has increased from 20 to 33 percent for a distance of 5 to 10 kilometers. The use of autos and e-rickshaws has been 10 to 15 percent. The use of non-motorized vehicles for distances less than five kilometers has increased from 14 to 43 percent. For such a distance, people are walking, cycling and pedal driven traditional rickshaws.
Increasing distance from bus and metro also
Distance from bus and metro is also becoming a compulsion for people living in Delhi-NCR to use private vehicles. Bus stop is within 500 meters of the house of 40 percent of the people, while there is no metro station in the same distance from the house of 69 percent of the people. In such a situation, they have to use auto or rural service. Delhi-NCR has bus stops within a radius of 200 meters from the house of only 34 percent of the people and a metro station at a distance of 11 percent from the house of the people. It is also worth mentioning here that vehicles accounted for the maximum 42 percent share in Delhi-NCR’s air pollution. Traffic jam on the roads is also increasing.
Need to improve public transport system
Anumita Raychaudhuri (Executive Director, CSE) says that better public transport system reduces vehicular congestion on the roads. Traffic jams and pollution also get rid of, so public services need to be improved. The structure of public transport should be developed in such a way that people get a bus or metro near their home. Â
Metro is closed for 3 months
With the increase of Corona virus infection, the metro operations in Delhi are completely closed. Millions of people travel daily in Delhi, called the lifeline of Delhi-NCR.
