Delhi’s e-rickshaws: Menace for some, lifeline of many

But Bansi Lal’s good fortunes suffered a massive hiccup when the erstwhile UPA government through a 24 April notification declared these vehicles as illegal. The authorities impounded nearly 1,000 of the vehicles throwing a scare among the almost 30,000 e-rickshaws plying the capital’s streets.

However, union transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s announcement earlier this week lifting the ban has come as a life-saver rescuing the almost 30,000 e-rickshaw operators from being rendered without any means of livelihood. 

According to Battery Rickshaw Welfare Association member Anuj Sharma, over 30,000 e-rickshaws are plying on the capital’s road. ‘If we include their family members, the number of people dependent on this profession will be approximately 120,000,’ he added. 

‘My life has become better ever since I have bought an e-rickshaw. I don’t have to pedal my cycle rickshaw anymore and be reduced to a physical wreck at the end of the day. Besides, the new one accommodates more people and brings me more money,’ forty-year-old Bansi Lal said. 

Although environmentalists have welcomed the move for creating a new class of ‘intermediary’ public transport which has ‘zero emission’, they say the government needs to set down frame the guidelines for the safety of the drivers and the passengers. 

In reducing pollution and dependence on cars, this new class of transport will play a very important role. But the government needs to make some rules so the safety of the passengers can be ensured,’ Arundhati Seigell, executive director at Centre for Science and Environment said.

The e-rickshaws first appeared in Delhi ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games but took almost three years before appearing almost all across the national capital. The mushrooming of these environment-friendly rickshaws is arguably an offshoot of the failure of Delhi Metro’s feeder bus service, which was meant to ferry people from metro stations to their residential localities. 

But, initially started as a means for last-mile connectivity in residential neighbourhoods, these battery-operated rickshaws are now plying on the city’s arterial roads and across busy flyovers. 

Rash driving by untrained drivers is another cause for concern. They can also be spotted jumping traffic signals. The cost of the battery-powered e-rickshaw, which runs at a speed of 20-30 km per hour, ranges anywhere from Rs.85,000 to Rs.1,20,000. 

The biggest problem for such vehicles so far was that they do not have a registration number like other vehicles. But its drivers used to get fined as per the rules of the motor vehicle act,’ said a Delhi Police officer.