By Elton Gomes
India’s ride-hailing company Ola, plans to introduce 10,000 electric rickshaws (e-rickshaws) within the next 12 months, as part of its new “Mission: Electric” programme. The company stated that the electrification will help improve the outcome for its drivers, customers, and also help its business model, besides being an environmentally friendly alternative.
Ola aims to develop “Mission: Electric” as a platform to install one million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2021, the firm said in a statement.
However, Ola is yet to clarify the details of how it intends to go about achieving this ambitious target, as reported by CNN. Instead, Ola said that it will “work with driver-partners, cities, vehicle manufacturers, and battery companies to make sustainable technologies cost-effective and viable in daily mobility.”
Launching ‘Mission: Electric’!
The initiative targets 1 million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2021. Building on our pioneering EV pilot in Nagpur, we’re expanding our commitment to electrify mobility in India #OlaMissionElectric
To know more – https://t.co/Tp1h4rBpHu pic.twitter.com/eZfoGvgdll— Ola (@Olacabs) April 16, 2018
“Three wheelers are a vital means of transportation and a source of livelihood for millions of people every day. It also represents an immediate opportunity to improve outcomes for all stakeholders while reducing pollution across towns and cities,” Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola’s CEO, said in the statement.
Here’s what happened
Ola’s pilot in Nagpur
On May 26, 2017, Ola announced its foray into electric vehicles by introducing Ola Electric. The company launched India’s first “multi-modal electric platform” in Nagpur. The firm said that Ola Electric would focus on building an electric mobility ecosystem, including charging infrastructure, and a fleet of vehicles, including electric cabs, e-rickshaws, electric auto-rickshaws, and electric buses.
Ola added that its mission was in line with the government’s plan of electrifying all vehicles by 2030. However, its initiative was riddled with problems. News Minute reported that Ola drivers wished to return their electric cars, and wanted to switch to petrol or diesel variants. Excessive operating expenses, and a long wait at charging stations were the reasons Ola drivers cited for switching back to petrol or diesel vehicles.
Ola claimed that it will build 50 charging stations for its fleet of 200 e-vehicles in Nagpur. However, less than 30 stations have been reportedly built, according to News Minute. What is more, the company had to shut down one charging station after Nagpur’s residents staged a protest, who claimed that the charging station—which was where drivers lined up to charge their vehicles, was blocking the road, and causing traffic jams.
The Indian government’s tryst with electric vehicles
In March 2016, the-then power minister Piyush Goyal claimed that the government planned to have 100% of vehicles go electric by 2030. However, around the start of 2018, the government dropped this idea, claiming that such a policy was not a requirement for now.
“There is no need for any policy now,” Nitin Gadkari, transport minister, told reporters in February 2018.
Gadkari’s comments came a mere month after he claimed that the policy to have electric vehicles was pending approval from the union cabinet. The transport minister had previously also outlined the Centre’s plan to make a complete shift to electric vehicles by 2030.
Why you should care
Even though the government has backtracked on going completely electric by 2030, opting to go electric can be integral in improving the environment. If Indians switched from petrol and diesel cars to electric vehicles, the outcome might reduce 1 gigatonne of carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2030.
In addition, going completely electric will help reduce India’s dependence on oil imports. India will no longer need to purchase 876 million metric tonnes of oil, and could save up to $330 billion. Using an e-vehicle certainly cuts down on pollution—which seems to be the need of the hour in India, as well as other nations.
Ola’s step to put 10,000 e-rickshaws on road within a year is commendable, and may raise people’s awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles.
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