Cheap rides, low costs: it’s Tuk-Tuk time in Tripura

Sporting a pair of goggles and with a firm grip on the handlebar, Swarup Debnath of Dharmanagar, North Tripura, cannot hide his pride as he rides his Chinese electric rickshaw, locally known as the ‘Tuk-Tuk’.

The battery-operated three-wheeler has changed the lives of Debnath and at least 300 others in this remote district town, bordering Assam, in the last four months.

The Chinese vehicles are giving cycle-rickshaw pullers and petrol-based auto-rickshaw operators a run for their money over short distances.

Worst affected are the cycle-rickshaws, as customers are showing a distinct preference for the new kid in town, which can accommodate up to six passengers, all for a mere ₹5 each.

Debnath’s daily earnings range between ₹400 and ₹500, more than the average auto-rickshaw operator. The best part is that his expense is as little ₹20 a day, on electricity, to charge the battery.

Each charge is enough for an 80-100 km ride. The vehicle itself costs around ₹1.2 lakh.

A vendor of the Chinese electric rickshaws in Agartala says the vehicle is gaining popularity in Assam. Sales are also picking up in smaller towns in North Bengal.

Local names differ from place to place. In Agartala, for instance, the Tuk-Tuk is known as the Tom-Tom.

The imported three-wheeler first showed up in the National Capital Region, a couple of years ago. In no time it became a passenger favourite, right from Paharganj in Delhi to Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The transition to the electric three-wheeler was swift as it falls beyond the purview of the Motor Vehicles Act due its low speed — below the 25 km per hour norm. While Chinese-made vehicles currently dominate supply, the potential has lured at least one Indian manufacturer, Saera Electric of Gurgaon, into the market.

What is worrying, however, is the nonchalance of the political administration to adjust to this technology-shift.

Suitable legislation and a regulated environment will help this pollution-free mode of transport to grow legitimately and more Indian companies to get involved.

Instead, States imposed a ban (as Delhi did), creating impediments for buyers to avail finance from banks and paving the way for illegal plying of such rickshaws.

Tripura, however, has been an exception. The state is leading the way in legalising the Tuk-Tuk. According to Urban Development Minister Manik Dey, nearly a dozen electric rickshaw vendors have begun selling the vehicles in the State since September 2013.

After a brief struggle to draft a suitable law, the State recently found a solution by amending its Rickshaw Regulation Act. The regulatory power to issue driving licences as well as permits was vested with local bodies.

The creation of a regulatory infrastructure has paved the way for bank finance to future buyers of the vehicle. The State Government is particularly mindful of the fact that cycle-rickshaw pullers find a better livelihood opportunity in the Tuk-Tuk.

“There was no way we could ignore either the technology-shift or the popularity of this mode of travel,” said Minister Dey.