After Electric 3-Wheelers Failed, Coimbatore Will Try Electric 4-Wheelers For Waste Collection

Indian government is repeatedly addressing the dire need for electric vehicles in the country. So much so, that several operations carried out by various civil authorities are now relying on electric vehicles. Coimbatore had taken a similar stance last year, appointing 50 electric three-wheelers for waste collection in the city.

The plan apparently didn’t work out, mainly due to the inefficiency of these vehicles.

Within a few months of use of these e-vehicles, the workers started to complain about their limited range. Their battery did not last long enough for the work to be completed, as cited by a source in a TOI report. Moreover, several of these e-vehicles had to be sent for servicing within months of operations. This further affected the service in some areas.

The issues directly impacted the future plan of the authorities of using more such electric vehicles for the work. While the corporation earlier planned to appoint 100 more electric three-wheelers for the service, it is now gunning for electric four-wheelers in their place.

(Representative Image: BCCL)

Why?

For now, the corporation has started using diesel vehicles for the wet waste collection in the city. 102 diesel vehicles, amounting to a total of Rs 5.71 crore, were flagged off this Saturday. Another 283 such vehicles are yet to be procured.

The diesel vehicles already in operation are costing as much as Rs 50,000 per month for their fuel. A source cited in the report revealing the expenditure mentions that the civic body can save this amount if it uses electric vehicles. Hence, the decision for more electric vehicles in the fleet only makes more sense.

The criteria now, however, is to find the right vehicles for use. For that, the body will soon seek an expression of interest from the manufacturers for EVs that can carry around 1 tonne of garbage. Once the right vehicle is finalised and the corporation begins their use, it can be a significant move for other authorities to follow as it will cut down on the operations cost and will be in line with the government’s vision of an electrified transport in India, which will be much cleaner than the present options.

A similar push is being observed across all the divisions of the government. While the state transport authorities are inducting more and more electric buses in their fleet, entities ranging from the Environment Ministry, to DMRC to even the Indian Army have recently opted for electric vehicles following the directive by the Finance Ministry to do so. On the consumer front, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a huge GST cut and tax rebate on interest on loans on EVs during the Union Budget 2019 to increase their adoption by lowering the price.