“Though day one was a success because of the New Year celebrations, we will have to see how it works on Monday”, said Ankit Sharma near Moolchand Metro station in south Delhi.

India’s capital city saw a better-than-expected response to new odd-even licence plate restrictions on the first day of a drive to cut down pollution and regulate vehicle traffic. Cars carrying people with disabilities will also be allowed on the roads on all days.

The traffic flow which was relatively less in the morning increased noon onwards with volunteers on roads ensuring plying of even cars. But with schools and colleges shut, and many offices closed for the New Year’s holiday, it was not clear how much of the reduced traffic was the result of the new regulations. “Delhiites are too used to their cars“, Kirti Lal, who commutes by bus, told Agence France-Presse.

Under the Delhi government’s new rule, if vehicles with license numbers ending with odd numbers are out one day, it will be the turn of vehicles with license numbers ending with even numbers the following day, and so on.

Kejriwal, who owns an odd-numbered auto, went to his office from home by carpooling with two of his ministers – Transport Minister Gopal Rai and Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

On the pollution front, authorities released conflicting reports on the impact of the vehicular restrictions on January 1 primarily due to different comparative parameters.

Arvind Kejriwal, the city’s top elected official and the architect of the plan, told reporters that he was “overwhelmed” by the response to the new rules.

Offenders are being fined Rs 2,000 by traffic policemen and officials. Anumita Roychowdhury, the executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment, said pulling cars off the road will raise public awareness over air pollution, and force the government to improve mass transit systems.

On January 1, the first prosecution for violating the odd-even scheme took place at ITO junction about 33 minutes after the restrictions became operational at 8am today. Exceptions have been made for medical emergencies, women, VIPs, CNG cars and two-wheelers.

Delhi’s air routinely worsens in the winter months, as millions of poor people light fires for warmth and the cold air and cloud cover traps pollutants. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has staked a lot of political capital on the scheme, thanked Delhiites and called it the start of a “movement”.

The prosecution figures exceeded 100 in a few hours of the scheme being put into effect, sharp at 8 AM today, the official said.

The transport department, which had enforcement teams out on the roads across the capital, also fined 140 autorickshaw drivers on the basis of 200 complaints received against them.

“There are so many flaws in this Odd-Even formula”.