Submission: I repent for *not* having an electric bike back in 2009, when I relocated to Bangalore.
I am submitting because I realized the benefit so late. And I read this article only today. My experiement with e-bike is really successful against many goals I set.
Here is my own comparison with other modes of transport for a travel of 10Km. This is very rude comparison and biased(?) ;)
Parameter |
Bicycle |
eBike |
MotorBike |
Auto Rikshaw |
Company Cab |
Car Pool |
Own Car(Self Drive) |
BMTC |
| Last Mile Connection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Depends | Yes | Depends |
| Cost of transport(approx) | 0x | 1x | 18x | 100x | 0x (But some companies charge) | 25x(If 2 people pool) | 50x | Volvo=35x |
| Ordinary=12x | ||||||||
| (Longer the travel less the cost ) | ||||||||
| Initial Investment | 7k | 35k for least model | 50k | 0 | 0 | 7lakh | 7lakh | 0 |
| Maintenance Cost/Year | 0 | 0(No maintenance required) | 5k(?) | 0 | 0 | 15k | 15k | 0 |
| Freedom from dust - A/c | C | C | C | C | B | A | A | B |
| Ambience Comfort - Hygene | A | A | A | B | B | A | A | C |
| Energy efficiency | B (Geared are better) | A (No belts/chains) | B | NA | NA | NA | C (You are spending all energy for just one person) | |
| Flexibility of timing | A | A | A | C | C | B | A | C |
| Physical Effort/Health Benifit | Yes | No(Yes if your battery runs out - Good exercise too) | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Beat the (Traffic) Jam | A | A | A | B | B (Depends on driver, not you) | C | C | Z (Worst) |
| Duration including signal waiting(1 min for 5 signals)/jams, but considering beat factor(you guessed it) | 30min(Easy ride 20kmph) | 20min (25 kmph) | 10min (60kmph) | 15min (30kmph) | 10min(60kmph) | 10min(60kmph) | 10min(60kmph) | 15min (60kmph) - 5 stops |
| Carbon Footprint Saving/person (Air Pollution) | A(Best) | A | B | C | B(More the people better) | B(More the people better | E(Worst) | C(Depends on condition of engine though) |
| Speed comfort | C | C | A | B | A(Very fast-more than required) | A | A | B (Depends on driver) |
| Dependency on others | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes(Worst) |
| Traffic Police Worries :) in general | No | No | Yes | No (Yes if driver is caught) | No (Yes if driver is caught) | No (Yes if driver is caught) | Yes | No |
| Risk of theft of your items | L | L | H | L | L | L | L | H |
| Risk at late night travel | L | M | H | H | L | M | H | M (If no people are less in bus - then high) |
| Accident Safety Rating | C | C | C | B | B | A | A | A |
| Risk on forgetting items in vehicle | H | L | L | H | H | L | L | H |
| Parking Worries(Cost & Space) | L | L | L | L | H | H | H | L |
| Noise | L | L | M | H | H | L | L | H(Very) |
| Space Occupied on Road Vs No of passengers | A | A | A | B | B | A(As being pooled) | C | A |
| Risk of theft of vehicle - Marking high for all :) given nature of our people | H | H | H | NA | H | H | H | NA |
Cost Parameters of electric bike are considered as 1x
Example Approximate cost of transport for example 10 Kms Bicycle= Rs.0 / eBike=Rs.1(Rs.5 per Unit, 50Km/Unit) Motorbike=Rs.18.5 (@40km/ltr & Rs.74/letre) Autorik = Rs.100(Rs.20 Min + 8km*Rs10) Car = (Rs.74/lit , 15Km Milage)
Rating = A Good B=Medium C=Poor
Please feel free to comment and discuss and add more parameters. I will cross post this in facebook too.
H=High L=Low M=Medium
Update: Added another row (Parking)
Update: Added another row (Noise)
Update on 5-Apr-2013 : Added last 2 rows
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The powerful myth
Clean electricity is a myth. It is clean only if it is generated by wind mills or pelton wheel using water gravity. [Like Linganmakki power station using Sharavati river water] If it is generated by burning fuel it is worse.
Solar panels is another successful innovation. Wind power is also being harvested in Karnataka.
However I am not impressed by Bheema having an electric bike.
Govt. subsidy for electric vehicles
Mahindra has launched its new version of a fully-electric car "e2o". This is a welcome development, however, the onroad price of this car in Bangalore is around Rs 7Lakh. The same car is priced Rs 1Lakh cheaper in Delhi as Delhi Govt. is providing a subsidy of around 15%. Why doesn't Karnataka Govt. follow suit? Govt. should encourage both industry and citizens to adopt pollution free mode of transport, which is very much needed in a highly polluted city of "Namma Bengaluru".
PS:
In the US (around an year and a half back), fully electric vehicles were given a subsidy of $10000 by the Govt. I remember one of my friends going for a fully electric vehicle by Nissan encouraged by this huge deal. Also, the companies there provide free charging spots in their parking lots (encouraging employees to adopt to a pollution free mode of transport), which in turn gets benefitted through a tax sop promoted by the Govt.
- Srivatsan
@psaram42. 100% right. I am going solar
Cant agree more with you psaram. Howerver, I am fine you not being impressed :) Your feedback is more valuable to fellow Praja readers.
Well, I am backward integrating to solar panels. I am getting solar conditioner installed this week-end at my rooftop. Just for everybody's info, specs of my installation(capable of charging my electric-bike too).
1.Sinex 800VA/12V/50A LCD Display
2. Luminous Solar Tubular Battery with C10 Rating - 100AH
3. 360 Watts Solar PV Module from HHV (180 Watts * 2 No's) (Edit: 300watts *3 = 300Watts
Also comparison was not done
Also comparison was not done just because it was green(er) powered, but in general. I have added few more rows.
Use of vertical walls
Is it cost effective to integrate solar panels on all vertical walls of a house too?
Recently I heard Modi on TV, proposing a Solar panel wall, all along the Pak border as an infiltration deterrent. Of course he has solar panels covering big rivers in Gujarath. A great enthusiast of Solar power I should say!
Finally Wikiepedia on solar cells
eBike has crossed 15K.
It needs a sustained interest to ride the eBike at slow speed and maintaining descipline. However, I am pleased to share the info that I have driven 15k. This vehicle is serving me all weather so far from June-2012 till date. Following are some points to note( specific to this vehicle)
1. Brakes are not upto mark. So always need to appy both brakes to get effective braking.
2. Honk stopped working.
3. Tubeless tyres got worn out by 10K, so had to replace.
4. Now at 15k, batteries got exhausted. Should be replaced for seamless service. However, for short distance less than 20km per day, it will continue for another few thousand kms I guess.
Rest all fine. Taught me more descipline in driving plus taught me patience on road :)
Today : 19999.9--->20000.0
Today : 19999.9--->20000.0 Go #eBike go !!! An economy car produces *6 tonnes* of CO2 emissions for every 20,000 km traveled(Oh my M800 !). So I have a reason to celebrate today.
More worthy to compare now :)
BMTC has increased (Official Link 1, 2, 3) rates by 15% from today !
So comparison becoming more significant till we get "electric shock" from BESCOM which may be anounced anytime after declaration of electric results. But who are charging eBike with Solar Panels like me, nothing can impact :-D