On January 1, the residents of New Delhi will only be able to drive in the city every other day depending on whether their license plate bears an even or odd number. The Delhi government announced the measure last week in an effort to combat rising pollution levels in the Indian capital, considered among the worst in the world.
Restricting commuter travel as a way of lowering air pollution has been practiced in large cities in Latin America and other parts of the world, including the United States and Europe, for more than two decades with mixed results.
Below is a partial list of cities that have implemented similar clean-air driving restrictions:
Mexico City
In 1989, the city introduced the Hoy No Circula ("Today it doesn't circulate") program, in which cars are banned for one day a week depending on the last number of the license plate.
Bogota, Colombia
Under the city's Pica y Placa ("peak and plate") plan, cars were banned two days a week during peak traffic hours.
Beijing
During the 2008 Olympics, China's capital banned cars one day a week based on license plate numbers.
Stockholm
The LEZ (low-emission zone) program implemented in 1996 banned automobiles from designated areas in the Swedish capital if they fall below certain European Union emissions standards.
London
In 2003, the city implemented a 5-pound ($7.50) congestion charge to drive on streets in the most central part of the city. Five years later, the capital introduced an LEZ program that regulates the efficiency of trucks, buses and coaches for all of metropolitan London, but it does not include private vehicles.
Berlin
In 2008, the German capital began an LEZ program that banned all diesel vehicles without a closed-loop catalytic converter.
Paris
After the French capital issued a license plate number driving ban in 2014 that lasted one day, in September it banned all cars - except buses, taxis and emergency vehicles - from driving in Paris' central districts around landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees between 9am and 4pm.
