Spend any time in Delhi and you'll see endless lines of bicycle rickshaws filling the city's streets. They provide quick, cheap transportation for millions of people, but what about the poor guy behind the handlebars? Pedaling one of those things around has to be exhausting.
That's one reason the emergence of India's first solar-electric bicycle rickshaws is so cool. Not only do they offer a smooth, zero-emissions ride, they'll give long-suffering rickshaw drivers a break from 12-hour days that would exhaust Lance Armstrong.
The soleckshaw, is motor-assisted bike that features a hub-mounted motor driven by a 36-volt battery juiced (or swapped) at a solar charging station. The soleckshaw has room for three and reaches 12.5 miles per hour. Drivers can trundle along under their own power on flat roads, then switch on the motor to scoot up hills or give themselves a break if the load gets too heavy.
We don't buy the government's argument that the soleckshaw will do much to help the environment because they're most likely going to replace traditional pedal-powered rickshaws. But we're all for what they might do for for the lives of the people who drive them. The whole idea of rickshaw transportation is seen by some as inhumane and cruel, with many drivers coming from the country's poorest areas and working 10 to 12 hour days, seven days a week. A battery powered variation would reduce wear and tear on drivers, and that's good news for a group of people already living in poverty.
There's not much to dislike about this solar-powered personal transport, but some issues need to be addressed before soleckshaws become commonplace. First, the vehicle's battery could use a little more oomph. Not only does it charge the rickshaw and its light, it provides juice for a phone charger and FM radio. It's good for about 45 miles, or about six hours of service. That's not bad, but the longer it can go without needing a charge, the better. Officials also haven't sorted out how many charging stations will be needed, where they'll go and who's going to pay for them. And at $450 a pop, the soleckshaws are beyond the reach of many drivers, meaning a lot of micro-loan funding will be needed to make them commonplace. India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, which developed the soleckshaw, says it's working on just such a program.
But the biggest challenge may come from the city of Delhi itself. Many Indian officials are doing all they can to ban rickshaws, saying that they are dangerous, reckless, and inefficient. They may not be inclined to change their minds just because a new model is on the market.
Photo by Government of India Press Information Bureau.
