VIDEO: Nepal sees an influx of electric rickshaws
The term "rickshaw" covers a wide variety of vehicles around the world but in Nepal it usually refers to the three-wheeler you see pictured above. They used to create clouds of pollution in the capitol, Kathmandu, but the Vikram Tempo rickshaw, the fossil fuel burning version of this conveyance, has been outlawed since 1999. Since then, electric versions, or Safa Tempo, have been steadily increasing in numbers. Now, according to one retailer, Shree Eco Visionary (SEV), there are at least 650 EVs plying Kathmandu streets fulfilling the daily transportation needs of over 100,000 people. SEV hopes to see the number of Safa Tempo rise to 4,000 over the next five years.
Not only are the electric machines more eco-friendly, they are, after the initial purchase cost of $13,500 has been dealt with, much cheaper to run than their smoking counterparts. According to an article at IBN Live, the electric rickshaws cost about seven cents per kilometer, a figure that should remain low even as the price of oil climbs steadily higher. Capable of traveling up to 70 kilometers on a charge, the Safa Tempo are seen as a good low-tech solution to the problem of vehicle pollution in Nepal. To see a clip of these machines doing their thing on the streets of Kathmandu and listen to the original report, hit the jump.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 9:36AM (5/28/2008)
The rising cost of oil will change everything, everywhere.
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Karl-Uwe Strunzen 12:01PM (5/28/2008)
Nice story !!!!! I had no idea! 650 !?
"Rickshaws" are also available in Europe, in the form of the Piaggio Ape, which I believe however isn't available as an EV. With oil prices and environmental subsidies hopefully that will change....
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/09/27/piaggio-launches-a-three-and-four-wheeled-offensive-with-diesel/
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Dad 5:24PM (5/28/2008)
"650 EVs plying Kathmandu streets fulfilling the daily transportation needs of over 100,000 people"
Okay, that means 153 people per day ride in each one, assuming all 650 are running each day for 12 hours. In a 12 hour day, 13 folks per hour. Or one passenger every 4-5 minutes (assuming no breaks for food or bathroom). I think there maybe some embellishment in this story.
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David Wright 2:52PM (5/28/2008)
Yep. The future is electric! A few obstacles to overcome along the way to EVs becoming universally useful - but I expect most of us to be either driving electric cars within 5 to 7 years, or at least weighing up the possibility of doing so shortly thereafter.
And I don't think it will be gradual - I believe there will come a tipping point, when the range and price become sufficient for most of us to turn our backs on the combustion engined alternative - at which stage that older industry will collapse remarkably quickly.
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James 4:28PM (5/28/2008)
David:
The future is electric and the obstacles will be overcome. I know when this takes place I for one will be driving a EV.
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Wave54 5:36PM (5/28/2008)
@ Dad
You left out one critical element:
These are 8-passenger vehicles, so they may be full a good bit of the time. That's less than 20 trips a day, which could just be across town.
BTW, have you ever read a news story of a tragedy from South Asia where the bus, train or ferry wasn't WAY over the legal passenger capacity?
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Kevin Nugent 7:16PM (5/28/2008)
That is exactly what is needed in developing counties
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Jeff 3:09PM (5/29/2008)
I had the opportunity of meeting someone who is selling Revas in Kathmandu and he told me a bit about these rickshaws. It turns out they use the same 6V Trojan T125 batteries as the Reva, although they use a pack of 12. On top of that, most of the vehicles have a spare pack that is charging while the vehicle is in use with the other pack.
I was in India and the thousands of two-stroke autorickshaws made quite the racket and definitely didn't help the air quality.
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