GVMC looks to launch e-rickshaws and buses in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam has been striving to bag the top place in the annual ‘Swachh Survekshan’. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has been provided with an urban climate change resilience trust fund under the Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor project. Under this overall umbrella, the latest GVMC initiative is the introduction of e rickshaws for public transportation as well as for collecting garbage from households.

The fund is slated to be used to develop and provide climate change-resilient infrastructure and services in the city. The project is being executed by the Department of Industries and Commerce while GVMC will be the on-ground agency responsible for daily implementation activities.

This initiative will be assisted financially by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Initially, 25 e-rickshaws will be procured of which 15 are to be used for garbage collection. The other 10 will be used for public transportation on RK Beach Road. E-buses are also being planned in the city, with the introduction of 4 e-buses. Slowly, a total of 58 buses are in the pipeline to run along the BRTS corridor. All these are aimed towards developing an eco-friendly e-vehicle zone in Visakhapatnam with zero emissions.

These vehicles, like any electric devices, have to be recharged regularly. These e-rickshaws can travel 70 kms after being charged for 7 hours. There will be 5 charging stations for the e-rickshaws. E-buses will have two charging stations.

News Source: Economic Times