Vehicular emissions have emerged as the leading contributor to air pollution in Delhi, especially during the winter months, surpassing other factors such as stubble burning, road dust, and the bursting of firecrackers. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), over 50% of the pollution originating from local sources in Delhi is linked to the city’s fragmented transportation system. Each day, approximately 1.1 million vehicles enter and exit Delhi, significantly exacerbating the already poor air quality.
Traffic congestion is a key factor in intensifying pollution levels, particularly when it comes to nitrogen oxides (NOx). These pollutants account for 81% of the NOx emissions in Delhi. CSE’s data, derived from multiple sources such as the IITM, TERI-ARAI, CPCB’s real-time air quality monitoring, and traffic data from Google Maps, shows that local sources contribute to 30.34% of the city’s overall pollution. Of this, transportation alone accounts for more than half—50.1%. In comparison, the neighboring NCR districts contribute 34.97%, while other regions account for 27.94%. Stubble burning, often blamed for the city’s pollution, only contributes about 8.19% to Delhi’s pollution levels.
CSE’s Director General, Sunita Narain, emphasized that while stubble burning and firecrackers do exacerbate pollution, especially during winter due to meteorological conditions, the primary driver of pollution is Delhi’s transportation sector. “We should not be focused on assigning blame—whether it’s the Centre’s or the state’s responsibility or pointing fingers at farmers and firecrackers. The real issue lies in the state of transportation, and this calls for year-round efforts, not just emergency measures like the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP),” Narain stated.
To tackle this problem, the CSE advocates for a holistic, integrated transportation system that prioritizes public transit improvements. Currently, public transport in Delhi is both underdeveloped and expensive. Data shows that nearly 50% of public transport users in the city spend 18% of their annual income on commuting, which is nearly double the 12% spent by private vehicle owners. This higher expenditure is due to long travel times and frequent interchanges required for bus travel, which significantly raise the overall cost of using public transport.
Despite the increasing demand for better services, Delhi’s public transport system remains insufficient. While the city’s fleet of buses grew to 7,683 (including 1,970 electric buses) by July 2024, it still falls short of the Supreme Court’s 1998 order to deploy 10,000 buses. The city operates approximately 45 buses per lakh population, well below the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ recommended target of 60 buses per lakh. Bus breakdowns have also become more common, rising from 781 incidents in 2018-19 to 1,259 in 2022-23. Although bus ridership is slowly increasing, it is still 25% lower than pre-pandemic levels for Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and 7% lower for cluster buses.
Meanwhile, metro ridership has seen a recovery, though data collection methods were updated in 2019-20 to reflect corridor usage rather than the number of individual commuter trips. During peak traffic hours (5 PM to 9 PM), the average speed in Delhi’s traffic drops to just 15 km/h, while NO2 levels spike 2.3 times higher than during the midday period (12 PM to 4 PM), when traffic speeds average 21 km/h. This congestion significantly worsens air quality, particularly during winter when atmospheric conditions trap pollutants near the ground.
To meet its clean air targets, Delhi needs to reduce its emissions by 62%. However, the city’s expanding urban sprawl has increased travel distances, while public transport use has declined by 20% over the past decade, particularly in bus ridership. This has put immense strain on Delhi’s workforce. For unskilled workers, traffic delays cost them between Rs 7,500 and Rs 20,100 annually, while skilled workers lose Rs 9,900 to Rs 26,600, representing 4% to 12% of their income.
In addition, the city’s parking demand has become an increasing problem, occupying more than 10% of urbanized land. The space required to accommodate the new cars registered each year is equivalent to the size of 615 football fields.
Experts suggest that measures like raising parking fees, as recommended in the GRAP Stage II, could help reduce private vehicle usage. However, they stress that a well-designed Parking Management Area Plan (PMAP) would be necessary to make such initiatives effective in managing traffic and improving air quality.
Addressing Delhi’s air pollution crisis requires systemic changes across multiple sectors, especially transportation. While short-term measures like GRAP can help mitigate the immediate effects of pollution, long-term solutions must focus on improving public transportation infrastructure, reducing reliance on private vehicles, and managing urban sprawl.
With inputs from PTI.