Taking diesel vehicles off the road may spell trouble for industrial workers

The restrictions on diesel vehicles will have a major effect on the industrial workers who rely mainly on shared autos for last-mile connectivity. The city has around 15,000 shared autos that run on diesel. Not having a well-connected bus service, these shared autos are the only available and affordable mode of public transport for the industrial workers. “Almost 50 per cent labourers working in Udyog Vihar will be affected if diesel autos are taken off the road,” said Kuldeep Janghu, president of Maruti Suzuki Kamgar Union. On an average, an auto driver takes 10-12 people in and out of the city every day. So every shared auto ferries roughly 110 commuters a day. Thus, one can extrapolate that 15,000 shared autos ferries roughly 1,65,000 passengers a day. According to the information received from the regional transportation department, they will have to take the diesel vehicles off roads and will soon introduce a city bus service in order to bring relief to those who rely on shared autos.