Delhi Metro flags off e-rickshaws to boost connectivity in Faridabad

NEW DELHI: With an aim to ensure last mile connectivity in Faridabad, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Saturday flagged off a fleet of 150 e-rickshaws from Escorts Mujesar Metro station.

A DMRC official said that Faridabad is the third city to have this facility, with e-rickshaw services having been launched earlier this year at Vaishali Metro station in Vaishali and HUDA City Centre Metro station in Gurugram.

"This is only the first fleet, which will cover four metro stations in Faridabad namely Escorts Mujesar, Bata Chowk, Neelam Ajronda Chowk and Old Faridabad. In 2018, 1,000 E-rickshaws will cover all stations falling in Faridabad," said the official.

Speaking on the occasion, Sharat Sharma, Director (Operations), DMRC, said, "This eco-friendly initiative of introducing e-rickshaws at Metro stations will enable commuters to prefer non-polluting public transport modes over personal vehicles. The objective behind provision of last mile connectivity is to promote use of public transport and to provide speedy, reliable and easy access to Metro stations and to transit points/destinations."

DMRC has partnered with Treasure Vase Ventures Pvt. Ltd. to operate e-rickshaw services in Gurugram and Faridabad, under their brand SmartE. Both DMRC and SmartE are closely working to also enable Metro Smart Cards for SmartE ride payments, towards the vision of 'Common Mobility Card'.

The specially designed e-rickshaws, with covered cabin and full front windscreen, will cover an area of three-four kilometres around Metro stations, and are enabled with CCTV and GPS. Fares for the SmartE rides are nominal.