By Soumya Prasad & Ranjan Ray
Almost everyone who lives in Indian cities today has been affected by air pollution, directly or indirectly. A large proportion of harmful particles in our air come from our own vehicles because of decisions you and I make every day to move from work to home, to drop our kids to school or pick up our groceries. Yet, the predominant attitude across society is to expect someone else, or the government to do the cleaning up after us.
About a year ago, a Whatsapp group brought together like minded people who thought slightly differently. What they had in common was that they drove the Mahindra Reva e2o, India’s only fully electric car. They started sharing their experiences, and also roped in senior officials from MReva into their group to address issues. All this interaction and bonding lead them to plan, India's first community led electric car rally.
About a year ago, a Whatsapp group brought together like minded people who thought slightly differently. What they had in common was that they drove the Mahindra Reva e2o, India’s only fully electric car. They started sharing their experiences, and also roped in senior officials from MReva into their group to address issues. All this interaction and bonding lead them to plan, India's first community led electric car rally.
The car is very easy to drive, turn and park. It rarely picks up scratches or dents due to unique features in its body design. It costs very little to run and maintain. Yes, it was a steep investment initially, but this investment has paid off in a few years. The car’s 120 km range was more than adequate for daily commute within the city. Most users learnt very soon that if driven carefully, the range could be extended to over 140-150 kms.
People are often worried about the range and availability of charging points when considering an electric car. Moving from fuel to electric cars is a paradigm shift. Most EV users will vouch that once you experience driving an EV, it is hard to move back to fuel guzzlers. Several people in India today only own EVs, with the e2o being their only car.
People are often worried about the range and availability of charging points when considering an electric car. Moving from fuel to electric cars is a paradigm shift. Most EV users will vouch that once you experience driving an EV, it is hard to move back to fuel guzzlers. Several people in India today only own EVs, with the e2o being their only car.
A new dawn for clean movement in nature reserves: 12th December, 2015, 8.30 AM, Sariska, logged the first entry of a privately-owned electric vehicle into a Tiger Reserve in India.
We decided to set up RE:LIVE to come forward collectively and make a statement. About the environment. About sustainability. About the ease of driving an EV. About going long distances with EVs. About redeeming our air, our lives and re-living the days from our childhood when the environment was much cleaner.
We started by planning the first RE:LIVE drive to Sariska. The MReva e2o needs a 15 amp plug with earthing to charge the car. This is the same plug that we use for refrigerators and washing machines in our homes. As simple as that. Several e2o users across India have listed their homes and offices as community charging stations. So have many Mahindra dealers.
Ground work around Pune showed that the common man was also willing to support EVs when they understood the simplicity of the requirements.
We started by planning the first RE:LIVE drive to Sariska. The MReva e2o needs a 15 amp plug with earthing to charge the car. This is the same plug that we use for refrigerators and washing machines in our homes. As simple as that. Several e2o users across India have listed their homes and offices as community charging stations. So have many Mahindra dealers.
Ground work around Pune showed that the common man was also willing to support EVs when they understood the simplicity of the requirements.
Preparations for the drive
We explored potential charging -stations between Delhi-Sariska and Jaipur-Sariska. Mahindra dealers in Dharuhera, Alwar and Shahpura provided us charging points. So did India’s common man: a car mechanic in Alwar, the cook at Sariska forest camp, a villager at Narayanpura. We discovered that it was that it is easy to find a plug point, in big cities, in small cities, in villages and on the forest edge.
Wherever we stopped, we drew in crowds who wanted to know more about the car and e-mobility. Air, water, environment are every Indian’s main concern today. We also learnt that with a little bit of planning, we can ensure that we time our car’s charging optimally our stomach filling times!
Unlike fuel or CNG vehicles, we do not need major infrastructure investments to drive EVs. No pipelines or fuel stations to be installed. The charging infrastructure is already in place across most of India. The main issue facing the growing electric car community now is to convince people to provide a plug point to charge our cars. The government needs to step in to identify rates for charging vehicles at community charging stations. This should also certainly not be a difficult, given that we already have existing policy frameworks for electricity tariffs across the country. Ultimately, for e-cars to be used more widely, we need car manufacturers to give us cars with longer range and fast charge options.
Wherever we stopped, we drew in crowds who wanted to know more about the car and e-mobility. Air, water, environment are every Indian’s main concern today. We also learnt that with a little bit of planning, we can ensure that we time our car’s charging optimally our stomach filling times!
Unlike fuel or CNG vehicles, we do not need major infrastructure investments to drive EVs. No pipelines or fuel stations to be installed. The charging infrastructure is already in place across most of India. The main issue facing the growing electric car community now is to convince people to provide a plug point to charge our cars. The government needs to step in to identify rates for charging vehicles at community charging stations. This should also certainly not be a difficult, given that we already have existing policy frameworks for electricity tariffs across the country. Ultimately, for e-cars to be used more widely, we need car manufacturers to give us cars with longer range and fast charge options.
Delhi-Sariska-Jaipur : The Drive video
The Central Government’s recent announcement to move to electric for public buses in India is certainly a welcome move. With the government’s push for solar, we are heading into cleaner energy in the coming decades. Air pollution is not just the government’s burden to bear. It’s our responsibility too. Together we can bring back blue skies, clean air and recreate noise-free cities.
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Like PluginIndia FB page or Google+ page for updates on RE:LIVE activities and events.
Join RE:LIVE FB group for all updates on activities and events.
Like PluginIndia FB page or Google+ page for updates on RE:LIVE activities and events.