IDR Explains: E-rickshaw drivers ferry India’s electric dream

#Livelihoods | Studies have shown that vehicles are a major contributor to Delhi’s air pollution. In a bid to counter this narrative, the Delhi government launched the Delhi Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy in 2020. It aims for 25 percent of the vehicles on the city’s roads to be powered by electricity by 2024. Since 75 percent of the vehicles on Delhi roads are two- and three-wheelers, there’s been a concerted effort to encourage EV adoption among autorickshaw drivers, who are the backbone of the transport system.
The Delhi government has announced subsidies that facilitate buying of e-rickshaws and installed public charging stations across the city. Now, drivers can exchange their discharged batteries for fully charged ones at battery swapping shops.
As Delhi races to become the EV capital of the country, this video by Debojit Dutta and Srishti Gupta documents the hopes, aspirations, fears, and challenges of the e-rickshaw drivers in Delhi-NCR. It attempts to highlight the drivers pivoting the cities’ sustainable transport revolution, understand what this transition means for them and their livelihoods, and underline the issues that still trouble them.
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