Delhiites: Why Don\'t You Use Public Transportation?

Altaf Qadri/Associated PressTraffic on the outskirts of Delhi in this Aug. 1, 2012 file photo.

Delhites, Why Aren't You Using Public Transportation?

The foreboding omen that winter is coming to the country's capital is back: a thick gray blanket of smog has smothered Delhi for days.

The smog, referred to by city romantics as the “fog,” or more deceivingly as the “mist,” is a pack-a-day mix of smoke, car exhaust and construction dust.

On Monday afternoon, air quality at various spots in the city was deemed “very unhealthy” by a government Web site, which frequently measures particulate matter in the air.

The government's label itself is something of a euphemism: for small particulate matter, known as PM 2.5 because they are 2.5 microns in diameter or smaller, and larger particles known as PM 10, which are 10 microns or less, an air quality index measure between 301 and 500 would be considered “hazardous” in the United States. It comes with the recommendation that “everyone should avoid any outdoor exertion.”

On Monday afternoon, particulate matter measures at various spots in Delhi ranged between the 500s and 600s, and even higher. At 4:30 p.m. in Noida, a suburb of Delhi, the air quality index for PM 10 was 882.

India's air is the world's unhealthiest, Yale and Columbia researchers said in a report released this year, and land-locked Delhi's low elevation makes the city particularly vulnerable to smog that lingers. A leading cause of the pollution is traffic: about seven million vehicles ply Delhi's roads, according to the Delhi gov ernment, and cars account for about a quarter of two major air pollutants in the city.

Making matters worse, the percentage of the city's 16 million people who use public transport is actually going down, not up: Between 2001 and 2008, use of public transport fell from nearly 60 percent to little more than 45 percent of “mode share,” or the proportion of travelers using a particular type of transportation, according to a study by RITES, an Indian government-sponsored infrastructure consultant. That comes even as the metro system was expanding in the city. Bus use fell from 60 percent to 41.5 percent.

India Ink has previously pondered why Delhi doesn't cap its car ownership. So far, the government has considered measures to discourage private vehicle use, including making parking more expensive and upgrading the public transportation system. Delhi has a spanking metro, for instance, with first-class infrastructure, which actually runs on time.

So, why do n't more city residents use it? That's a question we're hoping our readers can answer.

Are cars the only mode of transport considered fitting for Delhi's upwardly-mobile or newly rich executives and corporate moguls? Is the Metro's connectivity not convenient enough? Are Delhi's buses too unsafe or dirty?

We want to hear from you, our loyal readers. Please leave your comments below.