More Than 80,000 Trucks Passing Through Delhi Everyday (CSE)

Massive numbers of commercial vehicles entering and leaving Delhi: On a daily basis, some 38,588 commercial vehicles (excluding taxis) enter Delhi only from the nine locations. If this is extrapolated to the 127 entry points, then a total of 52,146 commercial vehicles (excluding taxis) enter Delhi. The survey had measured vehicles in both directions. And while it is difficult to know if the same vehicle has entered and then left Delhi on the same day, it is clear that the total number has an imprint on Delhi’s air as these vehicles will traverse through the city. The daily average numbers of light and heavy goods vehicles that enter and exit from the nine points are 85,799. The total number of commercial light and heavy duty trucks entering and leaving the city is 115,945 each day.

Read more @ CSE

The MCD estimate of the number of trucks crossing Delhi borders is grossly underestimated and is unreliable for calculating pollution load from trucks: According to MCD data, on an average only 22,628 commercial vehicles, excluding taxis, enter Delhi each day from nine entry points, as against the 38,588 commercial vehicles counted by CSE survey – almost 16,000 vehicles less. This is an underestimate of about 70 per cent in the number of trucks entering from the nine entry points.

Thus, according to the MCD, the total number of light and heavy trucks that enter Delhi everyday from all entry points is 30,373. This is even lower than what the CSE survey counted at nine entry points. Thus, MCD data on daily average truck entry is an underestimation by an astounding 70 per cent. The gap in different entry points varies in the range of 50-96 per cent. The survey establishes that the official numbers of truck entry into the city are a gross underestimation and they end up seriously under-estimating the health impact of these vehicles in the city.

Enormous contribution to pollution load: Delhi’s own vehicles are responsible for 62 per cent of the particulate load from the transport sector and 68 per cent of the NOx load. The total number of light and heavy trucks that enter Delhi spew close to 30 per cent of the total particulate load and 22 per cent of the total nitrogen oxide load from the transport sector.