इंटरमीडिएट पैरा ट्रांजिट (आईपीटी) – एक ऐसी प्रणाली जो लचीले यात्री परिवहन की सुविधा प्रदान करती है और जो आवश्यक रूप से निश्चित मार्गों और शेड्यूल का पालन नहीं करती है – भारतीय शहरों में गतिशीलता पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र का एक अभिन्न अंग है। हालाँकि, पारंपरिक आंतरिक दहन इंजन (आईसीई) द्वारा विषाक्त उत्सर्जन चिंताजनक है।
ICE-IPT vehicles contribute to vehicular pollution share: A conventional three-wheeler running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) emits approximately 0.005 tonnes of Particulate Matter10 (PM10) in a year and about 3.72 tonnes carbon dioxide in a year, according to a study conducted by The Energy Research Institute (TERI).
Alternative fuel-based mobility options are being explored to combat these problems. And electric three-wheel based IPT segment, especially electric-rickshaws (e-rickshaw), are emerging as a winner in this transition.
There are, however, multiple challenges that need to be addressed to make this transition smooth.
Speedy growth
E-rickshaws currently comprise 83 per cent of the India electric vehicle market.
भारत में वर्तमान में लगभग 15 लाख ई-रिक्शा हैं जो हर महीने लगभग 11,000 नए की अतिरिक्त बिक्री के साथ बढ़ते हैं। ये आंकड़े बहुत अधिक हो सकते हैं क्योंकि एक बड़ा प्रतिशत अभी भी अपंजीकृत है। 2024 तक बाजार में 9.25 लाख ई-रिक्शा की बिक्री होने की उम्मीद है।
The major growth drivers behind this tremendous growth are socio-economic and environmental benefits, along with the supportive government policy landscape:
Socio-economic benefits: The upfront cost of e-rickshaw is quite low compared to its counterpart ICE-based auto-rickshaw. The initial cost of e-rickshaw is Rs 0.6-1.1 lakh, whereas the cost of ICE-based auto-rickshaw Rs 1.5-3 lakh. Similarly, the running cost for an e-rickshaw is only Rs 0.4 a kilometres as compared to Rs 2.1-2.3 a km for the ICE-based rickshaws. The maintenance issues related to e-rickshaws are quite less, which saves maintenance cost. E-rickshaws provide better employment opportunities to cycle-rickshaw drivers whose business is swiftly vanishing.
Environmental benefits: E-rickshaws help mitigate air and noise pollution. At least 1,036.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions can be mitigated a day (378,357 tonne CO2 annually) if compressed natural gas auto is replaced by e-rickshaws.
Supportive policy / mission / scheme: Continuous support has come through National Electric Mobility Mission, 2013; National Urban Livelihood Mission 2013, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna, 2015; Smart City Mission, 2015; Faster Adaptation of Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME I and II), state’s electric vehicle policy in the form of loans, regulatory framework and direct subsidies.
Issues with mass deployment
Despite their mass deployment, there are several issues associated with the regulation of e-rickshaws.
Their components are imported from outside but are assembled in India. These are usually non-standardised and assembled in local workshops without complying with standards.
Unorganised players sell 10,000 e-rickshaws a month against 1,500-2,000 a month for organised players. The e-rickshaws sold by unorganised sector are of poor quality and operate on lead-acid battery that needs to be changed after every six-eight months.
The replacement cost per battery is Rs 25,000-Rs 28,000. The lead-acid batteries are usually weigh close to 80 kilograms, which reduces vehicle mileage. As the battery cannot be refurbished, an e-rickshaw owner typically returns it to the vendor it has run its life.
Used batteries are often disposed of carelessly, harming the environment. The Union government discontinued subsidy for lead acid-based e-rickshaws from October 2019 amid FAME I.
ई-रिक्शा का प्रसार इसलिए हुआ है क्योंकि उनमें से अधिकांश अपंजीकृत हैं। 2021 में भारत में लगभग 15 लाख ई-रिक्शा हैं; 2019 तक, केवल 1.5 लाख पंजीकृत थे। उदाहरण के लिए, दिल्ली में 1 लाख से अधिक ई-रिक्शा हैं; लेकिन केवल 5,891 ही पंजीकृत हैं।
As a result, drivers do not hold valid licenses and the safety of passengers is compromised.
The lack of authorised e-rickshaw charging facilities leads to power theft. Several unorganised setups in Delhi provide bulk charging at night by doing power theft. The e-rickshaw owners pay fixed money (Rs 100-150) for parking and charging facilities.
For electric rickshaw market to flourish in a sustainable way, a combination of policy and regulatory interventions are needed as discussed below:
Need to improve product design and quality: Considering the rampant growth of e-rickshaws in absence of regulatory framework, it is important to bring the supply chain into a formal channel. While specified rules and safety standards have been laid down in recent years, cheaper e-rickshaws assembled by manufacturers with low quality parts imported from China. They, hence, ply illegally on the roads.
There are about 340 e-rickshaw manufacturing units in Delhi alone, but very few are compliant with the ARAI / ICAT standards. The life of these electric rickshaws is barely1-1.5 years.
It is important that manufacturers relook and come up with a better design. As mentioned in a media report, the Union minister of road transport and highways had recently said the government is ready to fund if the e-rickshaw manufacturers are ready to work with any Indian Institute of Technology for improvement in quality, testing, norms and design.
Track adherence to safety standards of e-rickshaws: E-rickshaw owners would be asked to show a road worthiness certificate from their manufacturer or registered e-rickshaw association, along with valid driving license to the Regional Transport Authorities (RTA).
The RTAs can then provide an approval certificate, which can be randomly checked by the traffic police as it is done in case of Pollution under Control (PUC) certificate.
लिथियम-आयन बैटरी का स्थानीयकरण विनिर्माण: भारत बैटरी के आयात के लिए चीन पर बहुत अधिक निर्भर है, जिसके कारण ईवी की लागत में बैटरी का बड़ा हिस्सा होता है। बैटरी विनिर्माण के स्थानीयकरण से ईवी की कुल लागत को कम करने में मदद मिलेगी, ई-रिक्शा में मुख्य रूप से उपयोग की जाने वाली सस्ती लेड-एसिड बैटरी के उपयोग पर रोक लगेगी और रोजगार के अवसर पैदा होंगे।
The whole process of localization will take place in several phases. The initial years shall be invested in research and development (R&D) and creating a market ecosystem.
In the intermediate phase, only the import of lithium-ion cells can be done and battery assembled in India.
At the end, the market can gradually shift to provide end-to-end service with 100 per cent manufacturing in India. For ensuring sustainability of small manufacturers in the initial phase, they can collaborate with large manufacturers and as the market matures, they can gradually become independent.
सरकार को जल्द ही इस पर भी निर्णय लेना चाहिए कि बैटरी तकनीक का मानकीकरण किया जाए या नहीं। यह महत्वपूर्ण है क्योंकि निर्णय में अनिश्चितता से इसमें निवेश करने की इच्छुक कंपElectric Auto Rickshaws in India in 2024नियों के बीच भ्रम पैदा होगा। अगर सरकार इस फैसले में देरी करती है और निवेशक गैर-मानकीकृत बैटरी तकनीक में निवेश करते हैं, तो इससे निवेशकों को भारी नुकसान होगा।
Incentivise scientific disposal of lead-acid battery of e-rickshaws: Localisation of lithium-ion battery would help in encouraging people to purchase lithium-ion based e-rickshaws. The current operation stock of lead-acid e-rickshaws, however, cannot be ignored.
Therefore, e-rickshaw manufacturers should launch buy and back scheme through which scientific disposal of lead-acid-based e-rickshaws can be linked with discount on purchase of a new lithium-ion-based ones.
इंटरमीडिएट पैरा ट्रांजिट (आईपीटी) – एक ऐसी प्रणाली जो लचीले यात्री परिवहन की सुविधा प्रदान करती है और जो आवश्यक रूप से निश्चित मार्गों और शेड्यूल का पालन नहीं करती है – भारतीय शहरों में गतिशीलता पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र का एक अभिन्न अंग है। हालाँकि, पारंपरिक आंतरिक दहन इंजन (आईसीई) द्वारा विषाक्त उत्सर्जन चिंताजनक है।
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