Phasing Out Old Vehicles

                                                            Phasing Out Old Vehicles

In the name of growth in economy we are adding new cars every day to our existing population of vehicles in India. Newer and newer models are being added everyday with new features, fuel economy, safety features or improved engines. Individual is tempted every day to buy these newer version and either exchange or replace the existing one. As one moves up in the promotion ladder he envisages a new bigger or modern car rather than using the old one. The result is that the population of vehicles in India is increasing at an alarming rate.

Roads are getting choked due to not only the density of vehicles but also by a variety of vehicles starting from cycle, rickshaw, e- rickshaw, scooters, motorcycles, buses to all types of transport vehicle with their own speed limitations and thus throwing the traffic system in a chaos. This is the same scene in every city and it graduates into long traffic jams if the city is old with narrow roads and no organized parking.

This increase in vehicles not only lead to slow to very slow traffic but also to the increased level of pollution which is more in big cities but is gradually expanding to other smaller cities also. The more vehicles are there on the road the more pollution is created. More pollution will lead to more respiratory diseases and will spiral into other issues. Is there a solution to all this madness? Sadly no simple solution exists and whatever decision one takes it will lead to have effect on other sector. Decreasing the number of vehicles will lead to a down in vehicle manufacturing sector and will impact the GDP of the country. Decreasing the number of vehicles on the road will necessarily lead to arranging for a better public transportation in the cities. Some short term measures like carpooling can be done but with the mushrooming offices, population, jobs, distance from work place to house increasing, it will be shortly overrun.

Government have come out with a number of suggestions, like, Odd and even number plates vehicles on different dates, phasing out of old cars more than 10/15 years old, higher road taxes on vehicles, restricting the number of vehicles per family, improving public transport, cluster system for offices and homes, etc. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in the long run with possible effect on other sectors of economy. It is like a devil’s alternative. Irrespective of which alternative you choose there is bound to be some problems in other sectors and it is only the choice of lesser evil which can be chosen. The choice of zero damage does not exist at all.

Take the recent case of the decision of the National Green Tribunal about phasing out of old diesel vehicles which are more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles which are more than 15 years old. It is good decision if one looks at the pollution being created in India with these old vehicles and there is a need to phase out old vehicles and add only those contributing less pollution and this is to be an ongoing process and not a onetime action. But the polluting ability of the vehicles besides the age depends more on how it was used and maintained besides how much mileage or time it has done. Thus fixing the phasing out by only the age is not a correct criteria and the condition of the vehicle is to be taken into account. But who will check this suitability. The Government departments are notorious in flouting the rules and bending then with a hint of money. This will lead to more corruption but not decrease in pollution. Suitable checking centers in private sectors are another option but how to maintain their integrity not only of personnel but also of the equipment is another issue which requires details and checks and balances. The present set up of pollution control centers are a classic example of what not to do. There are no simple and easy solutions and there is a need look at the number of vehicles being checked Vis a Vis number of centers and their accessibility. But one thing is certain that the mileage done by the car and its maintenance is to be taken into account while phasing it out. Maybe one could specify a check list of the checks which are required to be carried out before a vehicle is declared is fit for use and these need to be revised based on the inputs received, problems faced and new technology and yardsticks being available every day. Therefore, the emphasis should be on the process rather than being of standards. Besides new and better performing engines the vehicles companies should also devote time and energy on the possible ways of upgrading their old vehicles on the road to meet the new standards and checks at a reasonable price and these to be fitted in the old vehicles at the time of its servicing at service centers.

The bigger issue than this is what is to be done of the old vehicles which have been declared unfit or have outlived their lives as per the guidelines. These will invariably be found lying on the road side, at dump yards, repair stations thus occupying space and adding to other type of garbage and pollution.  There is an urgent need to have a policy of disposal of these vehicles and needs to be followed before a person can buy the new car. There is an urgent need to create a graveyard or dump yard where these vehicles are to be deposited by the owners and where these vehicles can be stripped so as to take out the usable parts and to recycle the whole vehicle in its basic components/ material so that these can be used in future vehicles or in other sectors. This will reduce the load on the requirement of these basic materials to some extent and will lead to less pollution.

In order to reduce the number of vehicles the government can come out with a policy where the number of vehicles in a residential house/flat is restricted to the number of vehicles which can be parked in the given plot or to a number say two. An affidavit is required to be given by the person in whose name the vehicle is being registered that he has adequate parking space at home and office to park this vehicle and should be physically checked before the permission to purchase /register the vehicle is given. Unless these old vehicles are phased out or sold the permission to but new vehicles is not given. The same yardstick can apply to the offices also. This is to be coupled with a stricter policy of no parking on the roads whether it is a house, society or an office building. Of course this will have to be coupled with the construction of more multilevel parking by the corporations. Even the vehicles found on the roadsides with driver sitting/engine running are to be removed and such parking to be treated as illegal parking and not tolerated. This may require fixing of number of vehicles in a given geographical area depending on its size or population density. This will affect the vehicle industry and its growth but the health of a nation as a whole is more important than the health of a sector. This will automatically require fixing the capacity of production of each vehicle manufacturers in order to avoid over production and big unsold inventory.

Declaring certain areas as vehicle free zones may help reduce the congestion or traffic jams there but then there will be a requirement of parking nearby and the provision of suitable public transport from the parking to the areas or roads which have been declared vehicle free. It will not be out of context to mention that there should be certain days in each city when no private transport is allowed on the roads except the public transport and emergency vehicles or cycles. The issue is not of declaring such days but the bigger issue is of implementation and we Indians are notorious for not following the rules and will find excuses or reasons for breaking them rather than following them and the first amongst these will be the politicians and government servants. If they can be cajoled into obeying them then more than half the battle is won.

The other option is that change the working hours of the offices, businesses, etc., in order that there is a staggering of the time to report to office and a different time to leave the office. This will reduce the congestion on the roads at a particular time in the morning or in the evening and spread it over a longer time frame. This can be done industry wise, area wise or based on any other consideration.

Encouraging the use of electric powered cars by giving them incentive or reducing duty on them and provision of suitable recharging points will help reduce pollution. similarly the use of cycles in another option but in a country where there are hardly any cycle tracks or they are used for park of cars or by the small shop/stall owners or shops themselves as display such an idea looks too farfetched unless government and the society accepts it as a must and as status symbol.