All-electric road vehicles
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Maswood Alam Khan
I felt enamoured reading a news item, reported by Ahmed Raju, in a Bangla newspaper that about 40 thousand all-electric city bikes are hitting the roads in Dhaka metropolis very shortly that will replace the man-powered rickshaws (manually operated tricycles) in phases and ease the traffic congestion to a great extent.
Made in China, the city bikes that look just like conventional auto rickshaws won't need any fuel -- neither petrol nor compressed gas. Such a rechargeable battery-powered city bike, on a single electric charge of 3 to 6 units, can run for about eight hours at a varying speed ranging from 30 km to 60 km an hour. Interestingly, the bikes can ply on roads flooded with water as long as water does not reach the battery chamber mounted on the bike, one and a half feet above the ground level. The bike, like a normal rickshaw, can also be manually pedaled away to a charging socket, in case the battery is exhausted while on the road.
The city bikes would have already been plying in Dhaka city for the last three years if BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority) would not have refused to give permission on the ground that the vehicles were not of mechanical nature like other motor vehicles that are regulated by them. However, after BRTA's refusal, the DCC (Dhaka City Corporation), in response to appeals by a number of business organisations, formed a committee back in 2008 to make a report on the feasibility of such vehicles in Dhaka city.
Based on the committee's positive report, the DCC, of late, decided to give licences for 40 thousand city bikes but failed to issue licence for objection raised again by BRTA. Now the concerned ministry is at the final stage of approving a set of policy guidelines on such bikes. It is hoped that the Ministry will give their nod very shortly and the DCC will start issuing licences to 40 thousand operators out of 60 thousand applicants.
An owner of such a vehicle would have to pay TK 4,000 if s/he is not a driver and TK 2,000 if the owner himself or herself is a driver. A bike having capacity for two passengers will cost TK 80,000 and that of three passengers TK 1, 20,000. One bike driver in Dhaka city would be able to earn an average of Taka 1,200 a day. The DCC hopes if city bikes can alley the traffic jams, they will issue more licences for such light passenger vehicles.
There are about eighty thousand rickshaws plying in Dhaka city which are supposed to be licensed by the DCC. But thousands of such rickshaws are unlicensed or are allowed to ply in the city roads on fake licences. A few artery roads are off-limits to rickshaws though, but the connecting roads and lanes always remain heavily jammed by these slow-moving rickshaws causing consequent gridlocks in main roads.
I have not gone through the technical feasibility report of the DCC on the city bikes. But I am afraid drivers of such light vehicles may feel tempted to run helter-skelter at their highest speed or may try to overtake other fast-moving motorised vehicles like a car or a bus, inviting a greater number of road accidents.
We know the presently operating CNG auto-rickshaw drivers, and even manually operated rickshaw drivers, are quite used to running haphazardly, sudden veering, overtaking and standing on the way of faster vehicles. Due to such reckless behaviour of the drivers of rickshaws and other light vehicles and demonic manners of drivers running heavy vehicles like trucks and buses, many innocent passengers and pedestrians are dying everyday in road accidents. One may wonder if the city bikes, due to be introduced soon, will prod innocent people to jump from the frying to fire!
Success of battery-operated city bikes will surely induce people to apply the powerful rechargeable batteries in many other indigenously crafted vehicles like vans and boats in rural areas the way shallow engines are being used unscientifically by vans called "Nosimon" or many other comical nicknames. Thousands of rural people are dying or getting fatally injured due to frequent accidents caused by these Nosimons which are built by quack designers, not taking into consideration the architectural and safety needs that are essential engineering features for roadability of passenger vehicles.
We hope our government will seriously look into the safety factors of the new city bikes. If battery powered city bikes can ease traffic jams and reduce conveyance charges, the city dwellers would love to ride these light vehicles ditching their conventional cars and motorcycles until battery-operated personal cars and cycles are available at cheap prices.
The government may also consider banning all fuel-run buses and trucks from Dhaka and Chittagong in quick phases and encourage the transport companies to introduce similar all-electric buses and trucks to reduce air and noise pollution in cities.
For a city like Dhaka, mass transportation, however, is more important than hauling passengers by smaller vehicles. Instead of spending billions of dollars for flyovers and costly underground tunnels and as a substitute of light vehicles like tricycles, manual or electric, that jam roads and lanes, if the government could ensure only electric bus services forcing the light vehicles out of the city jurisdictions and allow general public to buy electric cars at affordable prices, we could undoubtedly get rid of traffic hazards, once and for all, and make our capital city truly attractive to foreign investors.
I would earnestly request the concerned policy makers of our government to send a technical delegation of some young officers (not the old ones who are to retire soon) to Australia to see for themselves how the concerned public transport authority of the Australian government has introduced 'free rides' for passengers in a new bus service called "Tindo" (Tindo is an aboriginal word for sun) in Adelaide. The air-conditioned solar electric bus 'Tindo' having seats for 30 passengers gets its electricity from a solar PV system at Adelaide's central bus station and can run 200 kilometers between charges. The bus service has been so popular that many countries are contemplating to introduce such bus services in their respective busy cities. Tindo may earn, I guess, the next year's Nobel Peace Prize for their crusade against noise and air pollution.
Made by Designline International in New Zealand, the solar electric bus doesn't have a combustion engine, which makes it very quiet and ideal for bus service operations in both residential neighbourhoods and busy city streets.
A little imagination, a little foresight and a little agility on the part of our policy makers and bureaucrats may make our present government very popular. If we could introduce a city bus service like that of Tindo in Dhaka city, I can guarantee we will forget grumbling about other nagging problems -- once we can at least commute between our homes and workplaces at a cheaper fare and without hassles.
The writer is Editorial Consultant of The Financial Express. e-mail:
maswood@hotmail.com
I felt enamoured reading a news item, reported by Ahmed Raju, in a Bangla newspaper that about 40 thousand all-electric city bikes are hitting the roads in Dhaka metropolis very shortly that will replace the man-powered rickshaws (manually operated tricycles) in phases and ease the traffic congestion to a great extent.
Made in China, the city bikes that look just like conventional auto rickshaws won't need any fuel -- neither petrol nor compressed gas. Such a rechargeable battery-powered city bike, on a single electric charge of 3 to 6 units, can run for about eight hours at a varying speed ranging from 30 km to 60 km an hour. Interestingly, the bikes can ply on roads flooded with water as long as water does not reach the battery chamber mounted on the bike, one and a half feet above the ground level. The bike, like a normal rickshaw, can also be manually pedaled away to a charging socket, in case the battery is exhausted while on the road.
The city bikes would have already been plying in Dhaka city for the last three years if BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority) would not have refused to give permission on the ground that the vehicles were not of mechanical nature like other motor vehicles that are regulated by them. However, after BRTA's refusal, the DCC (Dhaka City Corporation), in response to appeals by a number of business organisations, formed a committee back in 2008 to make a report on the feasibility of such vehicles in Dhaka city.
Based on the committee's positive report, the DCC, of late, decided to give licences for 40 thousand city bikes but failed to issue licence for objection raised again by BRTA. Now the concerned ministry is at the final stage of approving a set of policy guidelines on such bikes. It is hoped that the Ministry will give their nod very shortly and the DCC will start issuing licences to 40 thousand operators out of 60 thousand applicants.
An owner of such a vehicle would have to pay TK 4,000 if s/he is not a driver and TK 2,000 if the owner himself or herself is a driver. A bike having capacity for two passengers will cost TK 80,000 and that of three passengers TK 1, 20,000. One bike driver in Dhaka city would be able to earn an average of Taka 1,200 a day. The DCC hopes if city bikes can alley the traffic jams, they will issue more licences for such light passenger vehicles.
There are about eighty thousand rickshaws plying in Dhaka city which are supposed to be licensed by the DCC. But thousands of such rickshaws are unlicensed or are allowed to ply in the city roads on fake licences. A few artery roads are off-limits to rickshaws though, but the connecting roads and lanes always remain heavily jammed by these slow-moving rickshaws causing consequent gridlocks in main roads.
I have not gone through the technical feasibility report of the DCC on the city bikes. But I am afraid drivers of such light vehicles may feel tempted to run helter-skelter at their highest speed or may try to overtake other fast-moving motorised vehicles like a car or a bus, inviting a greater number of road accidents.
We know the presently operating CNG auto-rickshaw drivers, and even manually operated rickshaw drivers, are quite used to running haphazardly, sudden veering, overtaking and standing on the way of faster vehicles. Due to such reckless behaviour of the drivers of rickshaws and other light vehicles and demonic manners of drivers running heavy vehicles like trucks and buses, many innocent passengers and pedestrians are dying everyday in road accidents. One may wonder if the city bikes, due to be introduced soon, will prod innocent people to jump from the frying to fire!
Success of battery-operated city bikes will surely induce people to apply the powerful rechargeable batteries in many other indigenously crafted vehicles like vans and boats in rural areas the way shallow engines are being used unscientifically by vans called "Nosimon" or many other comical nicknames. Thousands of rural people are dying or getting fatally injured due to frequent accidents caused by these Nosimons which are built by quack designers, not taking into consideration the architectural and safety needs that are essential engineering features for roadability of passenger vehicles.
We hope our government will seriously look into the safety factors of the new city bikes. If battery powered city bikes can ease traffic jams and reduce conveyance charges, the city dwellers would love to ride these light vehicles ditching their conventional cars and motorcycles until battery-operated personal cars and cycles are available at cheap prices.
The government may also consider banning all fuel-run buses and trucks from Dhaka and Chittagong in quick phases and encourage the transport companies to introduce similar all-electric buses and trucks to reduce air and noise pollution in cities.
For a city like Dhaka, mass transportation, however, is more important than hauling passengers by smaller vehicles. Instead of spending billions of dollars for flyovers and costly underground tunnels and as a substitute of light vehicles like tricycles, manual or electric, that jam roads and lanes, if the government could ensure only electric bus services forcing the light vehicles out of the city jurisdictions and allow general public to buy electric cars at affordable prices, we could undoubtedly get rid of traffic hazards, once and for all, and make our capital city truly attractive to foreign investors.
I would earnestly request the concerned policy makers of our government to send a technical delegation of some young officers (not the old ones who are to retire soon) to Australia to see for themselves how the concerned public transport authority of the Australian government has introduced 'free rides' for passengers in a new bus service called "Tindo" (Tindo is an aboriginal word for sun) in Adelaide. The air-conditioned solar electric bus 'Tindo' having seats for 30 passengers gets its electricity from a solar PV system at Adelaide's central bus station and can run 200 kilometers between charges. The bus service has been so popular that many countries are contemplating to introduce such bus services in their respective busy cities. Tindo may earn, I guess, the next year's Nobel Peace Prize for their crusade against noise and air pollution.
Made by Designline International in New Zealand, the solar electric bus doesn't have a combustion engine, which makes it very quiet and ideal for bus service operations in both residential neighbourhoods and busy city streets.
A little imagination, a little foresight and a little agility on the part of our policy makers and bureaucrats may make our present government very popular. If we could introduce a city bus service like that of Tindo in Dhaka city, I can guarantee we will forget grumbling about other nagging problems -- once we can at least commute between our homes and workplaces at a cheaper fare and without hassles.
The writer is Editorial Consultant of The Financial Express. e-mail:
maswood@hotmail.com