E-rickshaws become public-friendly mode of transport in the city

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 20

Jalandhar has began working on an ambitious plan to replace diesel and petrol vehicles to shift to an all–electric fleet by 2030, to reduce fuel import bill, running cost of vehicles and carbon footprint. More than hundred e-rickshaws are currently operating in major public locations in the city. Though a major chunk of these electric three wheelers were usually seen at railway stations, these can also be seen at bus stands and interior locations like markets and colleges.

Balwinder Singh, owner of BM enterprises, and distributer of these public-friendly, colourful and designer e-rickshaws, said due to the popularity of these vehicles and cheap cost, most of the migrant workers have shown interest in buying them. He also said a charged battery could run for 80 km and the one-time cost of charging these batteries was Rs 30, which was way less than the cost of 1 litre petrol or diesel. Currently, the battery takes eight hours to get completely charged but with more advanced technology, the company would soon launch lithium batteries that would not take more than two hours to get completely charged.

Apart from these e-rickshaws, BM enterprises and other companies have also started selling loaders for commercial purposes and there are multiple benefits of these vehicles.

Jitender Prasad, who bought an e-rickshaw one year back, said, “These rickshaws are easy to drive and customers also feel comfortable in taking them for shorter routes but the cost of maintenance is very high. Most of the times, the damaged parts are either unavailable or are exorbitantly charged.

Like other cities, there are no charging points located in the city for these vehicles which sometimes troubles them when the battery gets discharged while they are on the road. Moreover, the companies are also planning to install solar energy operated batteries to reduce the charging cost and untimely discharge of the batteries.

Jasneet kaur who sometimes hires these e-rickshaws said, these have been designed keeping in mind the comfort of the commuters.

Karan Singh said the city should have more e- rickshaws as they not only make the rides easy and comfortable but also are also pollution-free.