CALCUTTA | BUSINESS | SCHOOL

27th January, 2016

Technology Management for E-Rickshaw: The Safety and

Design Perspective
The word rickshaw originated from the Japanese language, which means a human-powered
vehicle. The rickshaw is one of the oldest modes of transport, and was first introduced in the late
19th century. It is used all across the world, but more common in the Asian countries, especially in
India and Bangladesh. The various types of rickshaws have also evolved over time with the earliest
ones being the pulled-rickshaws. Other mode of transport includes the cycle-rickshaw, the autorickshaw and the relatively newer iteration of the e-rickshaws. . Historically, Indias urban as well as
rural areas have depended on the various rickshaw types for their travel requirements. The state of
West Bengal has close to 1, 00,000 Auto-rickshaws, and an estimated 7, 00,000 cycle rickshaws, of
which a large percentage is unlicensed.
There are many concerns regarding the mode of transport and its functioning in the state of West
Bengal. The battery rickshaws should technically come under the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act,
1990 but these vehicles are not registered or licensed, and there no special rules governing the
actions of these battery rickshaws. Thus, they are not be prosecuted by the Traffic Police, or never
charge any fine for breaking any rules. The battery operated e-rickshaws in the city have also been
deemed unsafe because of a lack of policy framework which governs the manufacturing of the
vehicles, and no safety ratings exist for these vehicles. The Indian Express, quoting a report prepared
by TERI, finds that more than 80% of passengers felt unsafe in an e -rickshaw, and expect a better
design after the regulations are in place. The government can utilize the data received with the help
of regularization and registration of the battery rickshaws to plan to relieve the traffic flow in the
high-concentration areas. It can also help in fixing routes and fares so as to facilitate the operation of
these rickshaws.

The E-Rickshaw Industry in India

One of the first attempts to design electric rickshaws was done by Nimbkar Agricultural Research
Institute in late 1990s. The cycle rickshaw was modified and then converted to an electric one. In
India they are popularly known as e-rickshaws and are widely spread all over the country.

Disclaimer: The case study is based on the research conducted by TERI on the safety and design of
E-Rickshaws in the city of Delhi and after analyzing the case the recommendations are made by us to
throw alight on the problem.
Author: Anupam Saha, Nazibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Saradindu Mondol, Sofiar Rahaman,
Rumana Haque, Abid Rashid |

They started to gain popularity in India since 2011.The design is quite similar to the cycle rickshaws.
They have provided with service to city and have also contributed to the livelihood of the people of
India. Due to their low cost and high efficiency they are accepted on the Indian streets, but policies
made by the government are threatening the e-rickshaw and banned them in the capital city Delhi.
But due to lack of regulation to put them off the streets they are still widely used in Delhi and other
parts of India. The number of e-rickshaws in Delhi as per government officials by April 2012 was
over 100,000 in Delhi.
In India almost all companies that manufacture the vehicle are entirely importing it from China and
assembling them. Though number of Indian manufacturers are less, they claim that in the vehicle
production is less and cost is a little at higher but they offer higher quality products and also offer
active services and warranty, these manufacturers market the product as a Make in India and are
also popular because of uniqueness in their product and providing a branded better quality product.
The FRP body type e-rickshaws are also popular in India and are manufactured in India due to high
shipment cost from China they are more cheaper to Indian manufacturers, where a Chinese version
of FRP Rickshaw will cost 0.5 times more than an Indian vehicle. The cost range is in between
Rs.90000 to 130000. The cost is added due to battery (Lead Acid battery) which costs vary from
Rs.17000-24000.
There are issues regarding services due to lack of established companies and just about everyone
importing and selling them from China, arising in problems to their customers, this is the reason
consumers have started earning knowledge and trust more durable versions from well-established
companies and Indian manufacturers. A lot of work and research on electric rickshaws has been done
by Indian companies have led to development of nearly all components of rickshaw. Indian-made
parts for existing diesel variant two wheelers are also being used as an alternative to specially
developed rickshaw parts.

E-Rickshaw regulations in India

Previously e-rickshaws were unregulated by any central law in India. However, the Delhi High Court
has banned the running of e-rickshaws in Delhi on 31 July 2014, over safety concerns raised through
public interest litigation. In a rally held for regulations of e rickshaws in Delhi transport minister
Nitin Gadkari told "municipal corporations would regularize e-rickshaws by registering them for a
fee of just Rs.100. After registering the e-rickshaw, corporations will have to issue drivers identity
cards so they can earn their livelihood easily. Once the policy was made, the corporation, along
with traffic police, would have fixed the amount of fine to be imposed for violation of the policy.
However, the policy was never implemented. Certain states like Tripura had regularized the erickshaws through municipal laws or through state legislation. In March 2015, the Indian Parliament
passed an amendment to the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015** legalizing E-Rickshaws.
From July 2015 Battery Rickshaw are available for travel in many metro cities, now certified to ply
with Registration No. plate by R.T.O. with insurance.
** http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-motor-vehicles-amendment-bill-2015
Author: Anupam Saha, Nazibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Saradindu Mondol, Sofiar Rahaman,
Rumana Haque, Abid Rashid |

The Threat
Electric rickshaws or e-rickshaws, as they are commonly known, are three-wheeled vehicles which
are powered exclusively by electric motors whose tractive force is supplied exclusively by
traction batteries installed on the vehicle. A complete unknown mode earlier, these e-rickshaws
have made an unpredicted entry on to the streets of Delhi in the last one to two years and have
become very popular for first and last mile connectivity, especially to and from metro stations
in the city. There, however, less knowledge on how and where the e-rickshaws are
manufactured/assembled, what the technology that they use is and how is that these vehicles have
entered the transport market in a big way without any approval and regulation by law. As
is known, no government entity is currently regulating these passenger mobility vehicles.
Given the concerns related to their growing numbers, non-observance of any regulations
by them and concerns related to safety and security of the passengers, the Transport Department
of Delhi Government commissioned TERI* to study the operations of e-rickshaws in Delhi,
including the technology used and design of the vehicles and suggest its view on regulations.
TERI has carried out this study by conducting extensive field surveys including reconnaissance
surveys, e-rickshaw counts near all metro stations and in specific areas in Delhi, e-rickshaw
drivers surveys, survey of e-rickshaw users and e-rickshaw dealers' surveys. TERI also conducted
extensive literature review to understand and analyze the different rules and regulations that are
used to regulate vehicles similar to e-rickshaws in India and in other countries. Additionally,
TERI examined technical tests of these vehicles plying on the roads of Delhi in order to measure
the power and the speed of the e-rickshaws. The CMVR** requires such vehicles to be subject to
test in a manner prescribed in the AIS***codes (AIS: 041:2003 and the related procedures
defined in AIS: 039:2003 and AIS: 049:200) by the agencies specified in Rule 126 of the CMVR.
These tests prescribed by AIS codes can only be performed in specially equipped motor vehicle
testing laboratories with prescribed equipments. However, these tests could not be performed in
specified labs for a variety of reasons, which have been discussed in the Report; they had to be
carded out in the field. As AIS codes do not advise any particular methodology for testing power
and speed of battery operated vehicles in the field, the institute developed a methodology
following the existing AIS codes to the extent possible.

* The Energy and Research Institute.

**The Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989: Rule 126
***Automotive Industry Standard: Electric Power Train Vehicles Measurement of Net Power and
the Maximum 30 Minute Power.
Author: Anupam Saha, Nazibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Saradindu Mondol, Sofiar Rahaman,
Rumana Haque, Abid Rashid |

It should be noted that the MVA and CMVR require two conditions to be tested i.e. The
30 minutes power and the maximum speed to decide whether a battery operated vehicle will
come under the category of motor vehicles or not. While the maximum speed test methodology
was kept as similar possible to the AIS recommended test for speed in labs, the 30 minutes
power test could not be carried out in the field; the closest possible test was evaluating the
maximum electrical power of the motor of the e-rickshaws i.e. the input power of this vehicle.
There is a clear relation between the input power and the output power of a motor. It was hence
decided to measure the maximum electrical power of e-rickshaws and use its outcome to interpret
whether e-rickshaws qualify the definition of motor vehicles under the CMVR.

Technical test results of e-rickshaws

The existing market for e-rickshaws has a number of manufacturers producing different
models. Some of the famous models that were found during the field tests are listed below:
Chetak, Garud, Sarthi, Saera (Delux and Mayuri), Atut Shakti, Saksharn, Krishna,
Bullet, Guru Tiger, Soni, Plaza Auto, Yatri, Neel, Rozgar, JMD Motors, Deep,
Maharaja.
It is recognized that the informal nature and contribution of the e-rickshaws is important
to look at the accompanying issues. The complete unregulated growth of e-rickshaws in such
massive numbers in the city raises concerns related to the safety and security of the passengers.
Preferably, any transport service employed for public use at large should not compromise on the
safety and security of the passengers, no matter how large its contribution is. It is hence
strongly felt that e-rickshaws should be strictly regulated to ensure safety and security of
passengers. In fact since the e-rickshaws are emerging as motor vehicles, the provisions of MVA
have helped to ensure this should be applicable on e-rickshaws. However, given the nature of
these vehicles and their specific use for ferrying passengers, primarily for short access and
egress trips, TERI recommends that the government need not to make very stringent
regulations for these vehicles; measures that ensure safety and security of passengers are to be
focused upon.

Author: Anupam Saha, Nazibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Saradindu Mondol, Sofiar Rahaman,
Rumana Haque, Abid Rashid |

The test results for the above mentioned makes are given in table 1. Table 1 E-rickshaw technical test
results:
*Table1:

SI
no

Identity

1
2
3

Shakti_49_48
Shakti_47_46
Mayurishera_00_47**

Max
Speed
(kmph)
28.25
27.01
26.88

4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Saras_51_51
Sarathi_50_51
Rozgar_50_51
Neel_50_51
Yatri_50_51
Sarthi_49_51
Mayurideluxe_00_47**

26.43
26.40
25.59
25.59
25.55
25.47
25.46

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29

Krishna_49_51
Sarthi_49_51
Devante_49_51
Chetak_50_51
Neel_49_51
Sarathi_48_52
Yatri_50_51
Sarthi_49_51
Plaza_51_50
Sarthi_49_51
Sarthi_49_51
Sarathi_49_51
Sarthi_49_51
Sarthi_49_51
Saksham_49_51
Chetak_48_51
Sarthi_50_51
Deep_48_51
Bullet_49_51

25.17
25.12
25.10
24.93
24.86
24.67
24.67
24.54
24.49
24.41
24.35
24.34
24.22
24.04
24.01
23.98
23.96
23.88
23.84

Max Power
(Watts)

Average Power
(Watts)

1589
1629
(not able to
measure,
point not
accessible)
2594
1749
1500
1637
2300
1261
(not able to
measure,
point not
accessible)
1572
1662
1718
1486
1668
1795
1539
1517
1505
1440
1634
1392
1639
1882
1420
1367
1654
1561
1655

524
526
not able to
measure, point
not accessible
876
489
453
520
607
380
not able to
measure, point
not accessible
500
473
495
427
541
676
420
423
546
403
706
378
495
606
514
462
483
484
485

Author: Anupam Saha, Nazibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Saradindu Mondol, Sofiar Rahaman,
Rumana Haque, Abid Rashid |

30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53

Yatri_48_51
Maharaja_48_46
Eco_50_54
Sarthi_48_50
Sarthi_49_51
Yatri_48_51
Sarathi_48_51
Yatri_49_51
Yatri_50_48
Soni_50_48
Sarathi_49_47
Sarathi_49_50
Garud_48_46
Sarthi_49_51
Rozgar_48_46
Saksham_47_51
Sarathi_49_51
Sarathi_48_47
Victory_47_45
Byby_50_48
Imdmotor_49_45
Atutshakti_48_51
Guru_48_51
Jmdmotors_49_45

23.82
23.76
23.74
23.69
23.66
23.65
23.49
23.39
23.26
23.23
23.18
23.11
23.00
22.83
22.80
22.79
22.18
21.94
21.94
21.81
21.75
19.57
18.82
17.95

1506
1446
1895
2068
1520
1635
1562
1641
1530
1550
1433
1384
1318
1793
1266
1484
1388
1288
959
1896
964
1546
837
1145

532
432
503
713
378
471
427
571
430
448
519
487
428
537
368
509
295
465
292
619
261
378
250
381

**The unique id given to each of the tested e-rickshaws followed the following coding
scheme: "make of rickshaw" _ "battery voltage in volts" _ "diameter of front wheel in cm
In these two cases, the battery voltage could not be measured because the measuring
point was inaccessible Results: All the e-rickshaws tested in the field had maximum
electrical motor power in excess of 250 Watt. Thirteen e-rickshaws showed speed
level above 25 kmph while others had speed in the range of 20-25 kmph, except three
e-rickshaws that had speed below 20 kmph.
*Table1: TERI report done regarding plying of e- rickshaws in the area falling under the
Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi technical test Judgement of the High
Court of Delhi in the matter of Shanawaz Khan Vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi &
Others dated 09/09/2014.
Author: Anupam Saha , Naz ibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Sarad indu Mondol, Sofi ar Rahaman, Rumana
Haque, Abid Rashid

TERI's interpretation of results**

Out of 53 e-rickshaws tested, 51 cases were possible for measurement. TERI readings
show that the maximum and average power of the motor of e-rickshaws examined was more
than 0.25 kW. Even if it is consider a low motor efficiency of 70% of e-rickshaw motors,
the average output power (i.e. the closest to the 30 minutes power) of 47 e-rickshaws comes
out to be more than 0.25 kW. These results show that all 53 e-rickshaws do not meet the
criteria for exemption under Rule 2(u) of CMVR and fall under the category of motor
vehicles. However, whether they are motor vehicles or not can be categorically
established only if the tests are performed as provided in Rule 2(u) of the CMVR by the
authorized testing agencies.
These test results lead to another critical finding which is that the components and processes
used in the manufacturing of e-rickshaws are not standardized and therefore the performance
of e-rickshaws belonging to the same model varies. It is therefore recommended that if the
Transport Department recommends type approval of e-rickshaws, it should find a way of
ensuring standardization of e-rickshaws.
From the above report, it is clear that:1. The e-rickshaws tested did not meet the criteria for exemption under Rule 2(u) of
the CMV Rules. All the e-rickshaws tested in the field had maximum electrical
motor power in excess of 250 Watts (0.25 KW);
2. The components and processes used in the manufacturing of e-rickshaws are not
standardized;
3. The government could consider regulating the manufacture of these vehicles to
bring about standardization and uniformity in designs.
4. Specific design standards could be specified, for which a technical committee may be
constituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways;
5. Governments attention is needed with regard to the safe disposal of e-rickshaw
batteries and use of clean electricity for charging the e-rickshaws;
6. The complete unregulated growth of e-rickshaws in such huge numbers in the
city raises concerns related to the safety and security of the passengers;
7. It is strongly felt that e-rickshaws should be regulated to ensure safety and security
of passengers.

**TERI report on Plying of e- rickshaws in the area falling under the Government of National
Capital Territory of Delhi technical test Judgement of the High Court of Delhi in the matter of
Shanawaz Khan Vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Others dated 09/09/2014.

Author: Anupam Saha , Naz ibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Sarad indu Mondol, Sofi ar Rahaman, Rumana
Haque, Abid Rashid

Recommendations
The study done by TERI provides interesting findings with regard to e-rickshaw
operations in the city but there are few recommendations:
The ownership and business model of e-rickshaw services, profile and perceptions of erickshaw drivers, users and dealers are all discussed at length and highlight the informal yet
socially important role of e-rickshaws from the perspective of meeting the mobility needs of
population in an affordable and convenient manner.
The importance of e-rickshaws at such rapid pace is towards the huge latent and unmet
demand for mobility, especially for shorter distances and access and egress trips, which these
e-rickshaws are catering to and which wasn't being met by or planned for by the public
agencies. Interestingly, the e-rickshaws while catering to this demand also do it in an ecofriendly manner as they have no tail-pipe carbon emissions and can be charged from clean
electricity. The key environmental question related to the disposal of batteries used in the erickshaws can also be addressed by formulation of appropriate policies by the government.
Few provisions in the MV Act could be considered for relaxation:
Requirement for a commercial driver license to drive commercial vehicles.
Removing government control over fare structure; the fares should be left to market
forces.
The government should also consider regulating the manufacturing of these vehicles
to bring about standardization and uniformity in designs; this would perhaps require
recommending specific design standards for e-rickshaws, for which a technical
committee will have to be constituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Lastly, government's attention is needed in the disposal of e rickshaw batteries and use of
clean electricity for charging these e-rickshaws.

Author: Anupam Saha , Naz ibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Sarad indu Mondol, Sofi ar Rahaman, Rumana
Haque, Abid Rashid

Bibliography
Articles websites:

http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-motor-vehicles-amendment-bill-2015
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-wants-e-rickshaw-imports-regulated
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/414014/the-motor-vehiclesamendment-act-2015
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/399976/judgement-of-the-high-courtof-delhi-regarding-plying-of-e-rickshaws-in-delhi-09092014/
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/406756/the-motor-vehiclesamendment-bill-2015

Author: Anupam Saha , Naz ibul Rahaman, Sumit Saha, Sarad indu Mondol, Sofi ar Rahaman, Rumana
Haque, Abid Rashid