BENGALURU: With fuel prices soaring, an increasing number of cab operators in the city are shifting to electric vehicles to cushion operational costs.
With the setting up of charging stations and entry of EV models, more operators are expected to shift to battery-run vehicles in the coming days. The benefits include less operational costs, a cleaner mode of transport and a reduced carbon footprint.
“In alignment with our global vision of becoming a zero-emission platform by 2040, we’ve partnered with industry pioneers who use a mix of captive and public e-charging infrastructure. At present, we have over 150 e-vehicles in Bengaluru alone. We expect two and three-wheeled EVs to become accessible and affordable to drivers, given their comparatively lower maintenance costs. We plan to have 3,000 e-vehicles on our platform in India by the end of 2021,” a Uber spokesperson said.
Sources in Ola cabs said they don’t have any immediate plans to launch e-cabs though they piloted electric mobility in Nagpur in 2017. “Now, our focus is to sell e-scooters which will be launched soon,” said a source.
MotherPod Innovations Private Limited, a shared mobility solutions provider managed by ex-servicemen, recently launched the ‘SainikPod Sit &Go’ mobility service in Bengaluru. “SainikPod is a unique ex-servicemen (ESM) driven initiative that provides end-to-end zero carbon footprint mobility solution,” said Rama Subramaniam, promoter of MotherPod. The company plans to build a network of charging stations for its fleet. Another e-cab service named Envi by Malbork Technologies Pvt Ltd was launched last year.
Sanjeev Kumar, the founder of Malbork Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates Envi cabs, said: “We’ve more than 100 e-cabs, but due to Covid, users are much lesser than anticipated. We’re running only 25 cabs. But, we’re ramping up to 300 cabs in the next three-four months. We have plans to expand further within and outside the city this year. We’re also building our own charging infrastructure which will be powered by solar power.”
Another e-cab service, ‘eee-Taxi’ is also available for the public in Bengaluru.