Illegal vehicles plying roads violating HC directive

Amid lax monitoring, the illegal battery-run rickshaws and easy bikes are plying unabated in different roads across the country despite a high court's directive to remove those vehicles from the roads.

These motorised vehicles have become one of the major reasons for accidents in regional roads though such incidents don't often make media headlines, road safety groups have alleged.

Besides, they said, the lead-acid batteries used in the vehicles are dumped in open places after expiration without following proper disposal methods, causing enormous environmental pollution.

At the same time, the easy bikes and rickshaws charge batteries from the unauthorised charging stations, depriving the government of revenues despite consuming huge electricity.

However, the sector insiders said that it would be an inhumane decision to evict these motorised vehicles overnight without introducing better alternatives for the commuters.

Though these lead-acid battery-run easy bikes 'tomtom' and rickshaws don't operate in the main roads of the capital, the number of such electric vehicles has been mushrooming in city alleyways and suburbs.

There hasn't been any particular study or data set on the number of battery-run rickshaws or easy bikes in the city or in the country and the people dependent on the informal sector.

Insiders said that a greater portion of the rickshaws and vans outside Dhaka have become motorised gradually during the last decade possibly making it more difficult to remove from the street, showing only the safety concerns.

However, a High Court bench on December 15, 2021 issued a directive to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and police department to immediately remove the illegal battery-run rickshaws and easy bikes from the roads.

The order was passed following a writ petition filed by Kazi Zashimul Islam, president of Baagh Eco Motors Limited - a manufacturer of environment-friendly electric three-wheelers.

The petitioner sought steps from the authorities concerned to prevent import of illegal three-wheelers of 30-40 models by 33 companies.

"A syndicate of businesses have been importing different components of unsafe electric vehicles like easy bikes and rickshaws to assemble those in the country without any legal approval or maintaining safety measures," Mr Islam told the FE.

He said that in the last one decade, over 4.0 million of such vehicles were sold in the country, making the roads more risky. These vehicles use recycled lead-acid batteries that are subjected to environment pollution, he added.

However, it has been really tough for local manufacturers for sometime now to get necessary approval for well-designed and safe electric vehicles, he said.

Expressing frustration, he said: "Our company has been trying to get approval for some models of EVs from different government departments for the last few years, but there has been no positive news for us so far while the illegal EVs are dominating every part of the country."

Locally developed EVs are well-designed for roads and the lithium-iron-phosphate batteries used in these vehicles can last for seven to 10 years, he said.

He also claimed that the huge number of illegal EVs in the country consume over Tk 420 billion worth of electricity which can be prevented by legalising such vehicles through proper standardisation.

Meanwhile, many rickshaw pullers now prefer motorised rickshaws or easy bikes over the traditional peddling rickshaws requiring muscle power due to the extra earning possibility.

Mohammad Hossain, a rickshaw puller in the city's Moghbazar area, said: "Peddling rickshaws are hard to pull while the battery-run ones are easy and can be pulled for the whole day giving me the opportunity to earn more."

The deposit for such a rickshaw is Tk 350 for a whole day while it is Tk 100 to Tk 120 for peddling ones (usually rented for half day), he said, adding: "I can now earn from Tk 1,700 to Tk 1,800 on average per day which is double than before."

The motorised rickshaws require about 10 hours of charging for its four lead-acid batteries that costs about Tk 70 for full charge, he informed. Replying to a question, he responded somewhat positively about charging his rickshaw at an illegal charging station.

A complete electric rickshaw costs about Tk 65,000 to Tk 75,000, said Abdus Salam, owner of a rickshaw garage in the city's Tejgaon area.

However, the batteries need to be replaced every six to eight months, which also costs from Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000 while the old batteries are exchanged for 60 per cent of the new battery.

In a circular dated March 10, 2020, the government has clarified the definition of electric vehicles through amending Motor Vehicles Regulations, 1984.

As per the definition, electric vehicle or EV means a vehicle powered exclusively by one or more electric motors whose traction energy is supplied by rechargeable batteries installed in the vehicle.

However, the definition does not cover battery-operated bicycles or rickshaws making it tougher to register such vehicles as per the draft "Electric Vehicle Registration and Operation Guidelines-2018" which is at the final stage.

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity Secretary General Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury said that before legalising the unsafe electric rickshaws and easy bikes, the government should emphasis on road safety issues.

"These vehicles must be removed from the streets and as an alternative, the number of public transports should be increased in the cities," he said.

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