As many as 511 spots across the national capital have been notified as designated auto-rickshaw stands by the Delhi government, transport minister Kailash Gahlot said on Friday.

All of them will be GPS-enabled and can be tracked on cellphones.

Auto-rickshaw drivers had been demanding the move since the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Delhi in 2015. Several senior government officials attributed the delay to space constraints and issues pertaining to coordination among multiple agencies including the government, the municipal bodies and the traffic police.

Gahlot said, “The stands will be designated areas with signboards, sufficient space for auto-rickshaws to wait for passengers and minimum infrastructure for the convenience of drivers and commuters.The idea behind this initiative is to tackle road congestion, making it easier for people to locate auto-rickshaws and contribute to better last-mile connectivity in the city.”

Of the total number of designated spots, 61 have been marked in Central Delhi, 10 in New Delhi, 66 in South West Delhi, 54 in South East Delhi, 46 in East Delhi, 44 in Shahdara, 37 in North Delhi, 15 in North East Delhi, 52 in West Delhi, 53 in South Delhi and 73 in North West Delhi.

“Directions have been issued to divisional magistrates, public works department and other stakeholders to provide signboards, along with other materials for the identification of the designated areas. The GPS coordinates of the designated spots have been marked and will soon be uploaded on Google Maps,” Gahlot said.

These 511 notified spots would, according to the government, allow upto five auto-rickshaws to wait at any given time. Currently there are no designated and government notified auto rickshaw stands but there are halt-and-go spots in the city notified by the Delhi Traffic Police.

Delhi has 402 designated halt-and-go spots for auto-rickshaws, which too provide for maximum five auto-rickshaws in a queue. Most of these spots unofficially act as auto-rickshaw stands on roads with relatively lean traffic, but without basic infrastructure. Notification of halt-and-go spots in Delhi had started in 2010, the government officials said.

These apart, Delhi has multiple auto-rickshaw stands on prominent roads and market areas, which are largely unregulated with barely any official records and infrastructure, senior government officials said.

First Published: Jul 13, 2019 08:12 IST