Delhi's pollution can be curtailed by Dynamic Pricing Parking managed by its Residents Welfare Associations

Written with Srijit Ghosh



This year Diwali in Delhi, the goddess Laxmi didn’t quite stay after gracing the city’s residents, but rather she must have scurried away in a hurry to avoid the poisonous concoction that was Delhi’s air. After the festival, Delhi reported the highest levels of particulate matter in the air. Parts of Delhi experienced up to 1,238 PPM of 2.5PM particulate matter, where the usual average unhealthy level is around 300 PPM (the global safe recommendation is 10 PPM). Due to the persistent thermal-inversion, the situation remained bleak for nearly a week.  Schools and public institutions were closed. Factories were directed to shut down.  In fact, for the first time, residents could taste the dirtiness of the air.

Delhi’s air pollution problem can’t particularly be blamed on single source such as high industrial activity on its outskirts; heavy levels of construction, or; hinterland farmers burning crop stubs post-harvest, but it’s persistency can be attributed to the ever-increasing number of motor vehicles on its streets. The main culprit being the high number of diesel-guzzling vehicles on city streets. Last year’s temporary “odd-even” vehicle restriction program based upon registration plate numbers was partially successful. The strategy however, is not a long-term solution as drivers find ways around it, as experienced in several places such as Mexico City. The government also levied a higher tax on diesel, which wasn’t popular, and ineffective in reducing pollution levels as many of diesel vehicles driver live outside the state.

To reduce air pollution from vehicles, long term solutions are required. These should include ways to increase the cost of driving to make it even with taking public transit, ride-sharing, or utilizing non-motorized transit. There are three main mechanisms to increase the cost of driving:

● Increase the tax of fuel
● Increase the cost of usage or access
● Increase the cost of parking

Increasing taxes of fuel, as mentioned, is a highly unpopular strategy, as it will raise cost of foods and consumer goods, affecting poorer folk that don’t have cars more severely than car owners. The city could come up with a yearly scalable fee dependent on the kilometers driven by each car registered in Delhi, but enforcement would be a challenge, as the administration would have to figure out how to effectively counter doctoring of odometer readings. In addition, this would not account of the millions of cars coming into the state from the suburbs.

This leaves two options, congestion pricing, and dynamic pricing for parking (DPP). While congestion pricing is often suggested, for an expansive city like Delhi, with multiple job centers, developing an effective congestion pricing scheme would be complex and time consuming. This leaves regulating the cost of parking as an effective strategy.

With parking, often being a sore issue with neighborhood residents, markets and communities in Delhi, the administration can utilize this concern to develop a mechanism of regulating, pricing and enforcement of parking fees in collaboration with neighborhoods organizations. If implemented it can dramatically reduce the number of cars on the road, and be a long-term solution. The administration, working with Resident Welfare Associations(RWAs) and traders’ associations can, yield a well-targeted DPP system. By charging varying fares based on temporal demand, the DPP scheme will increase the cost of owning and operating a vehicle, which in turn, will reduce the high levels daily congestion. By including RWAs and Trader’s association in the fee collection, enforcement, and monitoring of on street, and public parking areas, it will discourage drivers from circumventing the DPP system.

The city should work with RWAs/trader associations to audit the number on on-street spaces available within their shopping district or residential neighborhood. Once the audit is done, the city and RWA can develop a DPP system that could be administered through mobile devices and smartphone apps, wherein non-resident car owners would have to pay a time-based fee on a sliding scale based on parking demand. The driver would be able to pay via smartphone or text, making it easier for RWAs/trader associations to manage transactions. The city will share the fees with the RWAs/traders’ associations to pay for management and enforcement costs. The city may demand a minimum and maximum range to limit unfair pricing, but leave the RWAs with most of the management of the system. This strategy can dovetail with the recent update to the City’s masterplan, wherein it added new parking policies for Transit-oriented development zones around metro stations.

This strategy would treat both Delhi and its suburban residents equitably, and not affect the city’s poor with higher food costs. Drivers will be able to access information on a mobile application managed by the municipal authority. This app will notify drivers about hourly parking fees, parking availability, and congestion levels across the city. The guiding principle, here, is to induce behavioral changes via informed choices and small nudges.

References

Delhi Air Blog https://delhiair.org/india-and-delhi/what-causes-pollution-in-delhi/
Mohan, Dinesh. “Dealing with Pollution in Our Cities.” Business Standard. April 4, 2015. http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/dinesh-mohan-dealing-with-pollution-in-our-cities-115040400713_1.html
Singh, Karan Deep.“ Air Pollution in New Delhi Gets Dangerously High During Diwali Celebrations”. The Wall Street Journal. November 1, 2016.  http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2016/11/01/air-pollution-in-new-delhi-gets-dangerously-high-during-diwali-celebrations/
Firstpost Staff. “Delhi has world's deadliest air: Capital's pollution is 10 times higher than WHO limits, finds survey”. Firstpost India. September 19, 2015 http://www.firstpost.com/india/delhi-has-worlds-deadliest-air-capitals-pollution-is-10-times-higher-than-who-limits-finds-survey-2438280.html
The Gazette of India: Extraordinary. TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD) PRINCIPLES. Page 51 http://uttipec.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/2639737679.pdf
Shoup, D. C. (1997). The high cost of free parking. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 17(1), 3-20 http://jpe.sagepub.com/content/17/1/3.short

Comments

  1. Sandeep ChoudharyOctober 21, 2018 at 3:36 AM


    Central pollution control board and state pollution control board monitor the level of pollution / particulate matter in the sir. The higher the AQI, the bad is air quality to breath in. Delhi and most other metro cities are polluted to a level that air remains of poor quality round the year. Reports of 2017 from CNN suggested that breathing in Delhi was equivalent to smoking 44 cigarettes. Continue reading...

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