During a pollution spike this March, the city went as far as banning cars with odd-numbered license plates from entering Paris proper in a bid to cut city traffic.
I like that idea! How about that.. like we do P1/P2 parking, how about restricting entry for cars on certain roads.. allow only even license numbers on even days and odd license numbers on odd days.
As a transition, if not all-out ban, can do a "wrong day pass" that is expensive enough to deter regular violation but which allow one to use their vehicle for an urgent purpose. The car-user buys it at the first instance of being pulled over by a traffic warden (or at a signal), and it's valid for a day the way one-day-passes in buses are. The traffic warden would have to note the license number for each day-pass issued.. either submit the number at end-of-day, or directly sms/upload from mobile during the day. We could have online payment system for minimum one-day-in-advance and the car-user could show it on their mobile. Wardens would have the list of numbers that have already purchased a pass for that day.
Of the License numbers collected, a website can display a "wall of shame" of the max recurring wrong-day-pass buyers.
Sure, this system can be abused by traffic wardens by taking a lesser fee and letting the car pass, but that car would then have to pay off every warden they encounter, so it would be cheaper to just buy a pass; and even if not, then still the car-users have to pay something which will be a deterrent for them, so the objective is accomplished. And in case the warden gets hostile, refuses to acknowledge the pass and charges for another one, then still the purpose of deterring the car from using the roads is achieved.
One off-shoot : RTO can start charging premiums for odd license numbers for new cars, since there are more odd dates in the year than even :P
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