Late night shifts, living alone, driving to work: Single women drivers glad they may escape the odd-even rule

Delhi's single women drivers are a happy lot as the government contemplates exempting them from the restriction of the odd-even rule.
Many working women in the city who regu larly drive to work alone had panic attacks when the Delhi government announced the new odd-even policy to control pollution. Carpooling with strangers or using public transport at odd hours did not seem a very viable option.So, with the government considering exempting single women drivers or cars with only women from the rule, women drivers in Delhi and those driving to the city for work can finally breathe easy .Many surveys suggest that the number of women drivers in the age-group of 25-45 has shot up in the city and this section of NCR's population is thanking the government for this exemption.However, there are also a few men who are outraged at this new `reservation' on the roads.
Won't have to quit job or change shift
Single working women in the city, and those who drive to Delhi for work, say that driving is a safety precaution, especially when working odd hours and travelling alone.
Shweta, a software engineer who lives by herself in RK Puram, says, "I work the graveyard shift and drive back alone at night and now this odd-even rule! My parents were forcing me to change my shift or my job. But I can't really work on my terms, can I? There are always solutions to these things, there is no need to quit a job because of a rule. But this news of possible exemption comes as a relief and I am glad that now I don't need to answer the one question everyone has been asking me ­ `What will you do now?'" Ashima Chatterjee, an assistant manager who lives in Noida and works in Saket, tells us, "My shift usually gets over by 9pm and I reach home around 11pm and this odd-even rule would have been a problem for me. I don't have any family in Delhi and I don't want to carpool. Now that women drivers might get an exemption, I am quite relieved."
Difficult travelling from out of reach areas at odd hours
Diya Dixit, an executive assistant who bought a car recently, says, "I was really worried about travelling from Dwarka to Greater Noida for work everyday as the office hour Metro rush at 8am and 8pm is unbearable." Diya adds, "There is no Metro in Greater Noida yet. It's not possible for me to take a cab everyday . But now, as they are planning to exempt single women, I can't express how glad I am. "
Richa Srivastava, a corporate executive who works in Gurgaon and lives in the Mandi House area, tells us, "Since I am a corporate executive, I need to wear formals and I can't leave my vehicle and board a DTC bus or first take a Metro and then an auto. Also, people raise eyebrows when they see girls wearing a certain kind of outfit. But I am happy now that the government is considering ex empting women drivers."
There are also those who are now planning to sack their drivers and drive themselves.
Sapna Bisnoi, a web designer, says, "I travel from Gurgaon to Delhi everyday, and even though I know how to drive, I still have a driver. But if this exemption happens, I will start driving myself."
Thank you, CM, for nayi gaadi
Do you remember the ad where a woman tells her husband `... shaadi se pehle main zyada in dependent thi', and the next day he buys her a car? Ladies, memorize these lines and try throwing them at your husband, now that it might be eas ier for you to drive to work. Priyanka Mehta, a consultant who lives in Okhla, says, "I was discussing this exemption with my husband, and he is quite relieved that now he will have an excuse to not drop me and will instead buy me a car."
Reservation again?
While some men are happy that they won't have to drive their wives to office, there are also those who are outraged by this `reservation'.
Peeyush Kumar, an IT manager, says, "Is the CM talking about reservation in traffic now? As a middle class general category man, I had to face it in school, college, job promotions and now even on the roads!"