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The transporters demanded that instead of compressed natural gas they should be allowed to use low sulphur diesel. Another demand was to improve the supply of CNG in Delhi.
The strike had been called by Bharatiya Janata Party MPs Madanlal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma, both former Delhi chief ministers.
The state government warned of taking strict action against those who joined the strike.
"I will initiate action against the transport operators who defy the government. Permits of the commercial vehicles that stay off the roads will be terminated," state Transport Minister Pervez Hashmi warned.
However, the strike in trans-Yamuna areas seemed to be effective with very few buses, taxis or three-wheelers being spotted on the roads.
In the New Delhi area, taxi and auto drivers said they would join the strike because they did not want to risk damage to their vehicles.
Even though the Delhi Transport Corporation under Chief Minister Sheila Dixit's government was trying to ensure that 1,230 of its buses plied on the roads, only a couple were sighted in east Delhi.
The DTC had announced that 900 of its buses would be plying on inter-state routes.
There were stray incidents of violence, whereby the windscreens of some buses were smashed. There were also reports of some buses being burnt at Janak Puri in west Delhi, but the police denied any such incident.
"Some people have smashed windowpanes and tried to stop the buses that came on the roads, but no buses have been burnt," a police officer told rediff.com
Hashmi blamed the violence on BJP workers.
"I am fighting the cause of the transporters in the Supreme Court. We have full faith in the judiciary, but the BJP politicians are inciting transporters to create trouble."
Approximately 12,000 buses, 50,000 three-wheelers and 4,500 taxis plying on the roads of Delhi everyday.
Many schools in the city announced that they would remain closed on Tuesday to prevent inconvenience to students and teachers.
"My daughter has an exam on Tuesday but I am not going to send her to the school. What if violence breaks out on the streets," asked Juhi Sharma, a concerned mother.
"As usual, the common people are the worst sufferers during these strikes. It is better to stay away from the roads," she pointed out.
According to Dinesh Khatri, a teacher in an east Delhi school, the government advised the schools to fight the BJP's "communal tendencies" and resist the strike, which reflects the party's "political exploitation".
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