E-rick hurdles cleared, no clarity yet on fares
Noida: The transport department has cleared some hurdles ahead of the launch of the Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC)programme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 5, under which 5,100 e-rickshaws will be distributed to NCR residents. However, there is no clarity yet on the fare structure of these eco-friendly vehicles.
Rachna Yaduvanshi, ARTO (administration) Noida, said, “The Noida transport department will register 1,000 e-rickshaws. We have not discussed the fare structure of these vehicles,” she said.
Vijay Pandey, managing director, BMC, said things were being sorted out for this new initiative systematically. “The issue of obtaining learner’s licences for drivers has been resolved and 20 drivers got their learner’s licences on Tuesday. The e-rickshaw dealers also applied for trading certificates with the ARTO. As the transport department has not deliberated on the fare structure so far we will ply the rickshaws on the present rates till the fares are finalised,” he said. At present, there are about 250 e-rickshaws but all of them are unregulated.
Pandey said BMC has also planned to associate with a mobile app-based cab aggregator to improve the e-rickshaw services. “These e-rickshaws will be available from different Metro stations and sectors. Users will be able to share a ride with fellow passengers after booking through the application,” he said.
The battery-operated vehicles will connect residential sectors, villages, the District Hospital, ESIC Hospital, GIP mall, ARTO, and offices of the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police. The Noida Authority had last year made a detailed plan of 12 routes for e-rickshaws. The Noida transport department had earlier decided to register only 250 e-rickshaws but it was later increased to 1,000. The rest of the e-rickshaws will be issued to residents of Ghaziabad, Delhi and other NCR cities.
