Air pollution is a significant health concern for the entire world, with India reported to be at some of the highest levels globally. One of the Indian states: Hyderabad, along with its twin city of Secunderabad, is the fifth largest city in India, with a population of more than 8 million. Hyderabad, a 400-year-old city is the state capital of Telangana.
It is an economic city in southeastern India – housing a variety of heavy industry, research centers, and SEZ technologies. It is one of the fastest-growing centers with a population density of ~17,000 persons per sq.km due to its popularity as a major high-tech hub. The rapid rate of urbanization has encouraged migration to the twin cities, which led to an increase of personal, public, industrial output, and increasing burden on the city’s infrastructure makes it a good reason to instil electric scooters in Hyderabad. Over the past two decades, polluted air has lowered life expectancy by an average of two years, while changes in some countries have been offset by deteriorating conditions in others.
With the rapid growth in the city’s inventory of pollution, the results did not include natural emission sources (such as dust storms, lightning, and seasalt) and seasonal open fires (agricultural and forested). Nevertheless, there seemed to be vast overall chemical transport modelling. Rapidly developing countries like India are facing the dual threat of air pollution emissions from both the atmosphere and the home. To take care of the rapid growth in pollution, use of the electric scooter has been tried to encourage. Electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions and can help to reduce pollution in India’s urban centers. Introducing electric scooters in Hyderabad and making them sustainable would be a stepping-stone for them in controlling pollution due to population.
What Are Electric Scooters?
An electric scooter – or e-scooter – is similar to a manual scooter with two wheels, except that it is driven by a motor. The first of its kind was published in 1985, but the scooters have recently gained popularity worldwide. Thanks to the introduction of newer technology batteries, Bms, sensors and a high quality motor, electric scooters are performing better than the non-motorized scooters. Batteries are an electric scooter’s “gas-tank.” They store the energy, which the electric motor and other devices, including lights, consume. Electric scooters would have a battery pack consisting of lithium battery cells or lead-acid battery cells.
Advent Of Electric Scooters In India
In other countries, the story of EV penetration began with electric scooters/bikes and in India; we would have expected the same as their smaller scale, making them more appropriate for early adoption of electric vehicles. In India, however, the adoption began organically with the unorganized e-rickshaws in Delhi nearly 10 years ago, as a first /alternative service to the Delhi Metro. However, to tell the truth, they have only penetrated the northern belt or area of India. Even after India is one of the largest two-wheeler markets in the world, with sales of over 21 million scooters and motorcycles in 2019.Indian Electric Scooter and Motorcycles industry target is to reach to a “totally electric” by 2025 as per the recent release by the government of a Think Tank project chaired by the Prime Minister aiming to significantly reduce emissions and minimize the fuel import bill.
However, many of the two-wheeler manufacturers with the highest sales are switching to electric. At the same time, there are several other companies in India, which have yet to launch their electric vehicle models. In addition, the drop in the GST rate for electric vehicles from 12% to 5%, which is lower than the 28% GST applicable to ICE, makes EVs even more consumer-friendly and attractive to the potential electric vehicle makers. As part of the Make in India program, the government is also considering incentives for producing electric vehicles and batteries to improve economic growth and promote local development. Many ride-sharing services, food distribution sites and taxi aggregators are looking to move electrically attracted by outstanding operating economies and subsidies. The ride-hailing service provider Ola, for example, plans to deploy 10,000 electric two- and three-wheelers to India by 2020.Scooter sharing has increased understanding of micro-mobility among the public and has guided personal business growth. The growth of the personal market has led to the introduction of E scooters by a large number of different brands of hundreds of different models of electric scooters.
Should They Be Considered A Sustainable Transport Option?
Electric scooters come with definite advantages that might make us want to consider these scooters as an alternative option to non-motorized scooters. The advantages of Electric scooters might make you believe in their sustainability in Hyderabad.
1. Eco-friendly:
Hyderabad being one of the top cities in expanding industrialization, gives it a drawback in terms of pollution. As the strategic position of the city in South Central India led in the 1970s to the establishment of pharmaceutical and electronic industries, and subsequently to the growth of the information technology and biotechnology sectors. Electric scooters are powered by a no-noise electric motor which ensures noise-free rides and there is no chance of smoke as the motor runs with rechargeable batteries.
2. Cost Effective:
Needless to say, when it comes to choosing an alternative mode of transport, electric scooters are inexpensive; they can be called your pocket’s best friend. Since these scooters run on a rechargeable battery, you do not have to rely on fuel. The bike is made available to customers via an installment payment program of INR 3000-4000 depending on the model for 3 years, without any requirement of down payment.
3. Easy To Maintain:
Electric scooters have less moving parts as compared to ICE scooters which makes it more maintenance free. As they run with battery, which can easily be recharged, you do not have to go through the fuss of refueling each time. No regular up keeping is required in electric scooters, except checking pressure if they have pneumatic (air-filled) tires. Nowadays, pneumatic front tires are used on most scooters to reduce risk of flat tires.
4. Time:
Managing time in the big cities can turn out to be a problem but these sleek vehicles will help save you a great deal of time on the road. Your scooter will save your precious time spent otherwise in heavy traffic, gas stations and parking lots. These are compact and easy to travel on everywhere, so you will not have trouble taking a quick cut through the subway, a shopping mall or a park. For a given period, you only need to recharge the battery, and that is it.
5. Comfortable:
Electric scooters are very comfortable for long rides as it doesn’t give the vibration in your body while riding, it’s silently smart. Also electric scooters with lithium batteries are much lighter in weight compared to other ICE scooters which also improves the riding experience.
Hyderabad is both a lively historical and cultural city and the beneficiary of an early urban environment and sophisticated educational infrastructure. This enjoys fast road, rail, and air connectivity, which will be further enhanced by the forthcoming metro rail network. Tourism, Agriculture, bio-pharmaceuticals, electronics manufacturing, education, and real estate are high performing sectors in the region. The impressive investment prospects of the city are greatly cemented by its business-friendly regulatory climate, infrastructure, and economic diversity, which continue to attract the confidence of multinational and regional companies. All these great achievements come with a negative aspect, as the job opportunities increase so does the immigration, resulting in owning individual vehicles. With Electric scooters in Hyderabad, they can be the boon for the overall growth of Hyderabad, making it a sustainable transport option.