Here’s news that can really make your day — well, in this case, your last-mile commute to home at night. Today, L-T Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, flagged off a fleet of 100 e-rickshaws from Sector 10 Metro Station in Dwarka under the initiative SmartE.
The best part — you can now book these GPS-enabled vehicles from your phone through the SmartE app and also pay digitally for their rides. Dwarka News
The e-rickshaws will be plying from eight Metro stations of Dwarka, including Sector 14, Sector 13, Sector 12, Sector 11, Sector 10, Sector 9 and Sector 8 between 6 am to 11 pm.
While flagging off, the L-G said, “The DMRC stands out for its environment friendly initiatives. This eco-friendly initiative of introducing e-rickshaws at the Metro stations will allow commuters to choose non-polluting public transport modes over personal vehicles.”
It is for the first time that e-rickshaw facility has been rolled out for Metro Stations in Delhi region, including Dwarka.
The number of e-rickshaws would be increased to 200 in the coming weeks. A charging station for 100 electric vehicles has also been set up by SmartE to ensure seamless service throughout the day.
The charging station
The fares have been kept at a base price of Rs 10 for the first 2 km and Rs 5 more for every subsequent km — they will, however, stay within a range of 3-4 km of the Metro stations.
Also, plans are afoot to allow use of Metro smart cards for payment in these electric vehicles.
Commuters can call on the helpline number 8010400600 for more information, or visit www.getsmarte.in
People of Dwarka have welcomed the move.
A resident of True Friends Apartments in Sector 6, Romila Gandhi, said, “This is a great initiative — both cheaper and environment friendly. This will also ensure safety of women who return late from office, as they will have a assured means of transport that’s GPS-enabled. ”
Adding to this, Pankaj Kumar, a resident of Gangotri Apartments in Sector 12, said, “The new e-rickshaws are a good initiative because they will be available upto 11 pm, and will not be that costly. Right now, for a kilometre, we are made to pay Rs 30-40!”
