Electric Rickshaw Research Articles

Performance Analysis of Boost-Converter-Fed BLDC Motor Drive with Motoring and Braking Operation for Electric Rickshaw Application

Performance Analysis of Boost-Converter-Fed BLDC Motor Drive with Motoring and Braking Operation for Electric Rickshaw Application

How power and politics shape niche-regime interactions: A view from the Global South

The significant role of politics in shaping sustainability transitions (ST) is well-recognized but still under-researched, especially in the Global South, where institutional context can differ widely from the Global North. For instance, informal transport is a unique and common feature of many Global South countries and constitutes complexity that is not captured adequately by transition studies’ conceptual frameworks. This study explores how power and politics surrounding informal occupations shape niche-regime interactions in a Global South country by examining the emergence, development and subsequent legitimization of the informal electric rickshaw (ER) transport in Delhi (India). The study shows the limitation of dichotomous conceptualizations like niche/new entrants vs. regime/incumbents and fit-and-conform vs. stretch-and-transform in understanding niche-regime interactions and argues that studying how politics of transition unfolds in the Global South's informal spaces can broaden the conceptual horizons.

Electric Rickshaw Charging Stations as Distributed Energy Storages for Integrating Intermittent Renewable Energy Sources: A Case of Bangladesh

This exploratory research outlines an opportunity for increasing renewable energy share in Bangladesh by using electric rickshaws (e-rickshaws) as a catalyst. The overall objective of this research is to show how to utilise an existing opportunity, such as e-rickshaws, as energy storage options for integrating renewable energy sources. It proposes a grid-connected local energy system considering a battery swapping and charging station (BSCS) for e-rickshaws as a community battery energy storage (CBESS). This system was simulated using the HOMER Pro software. The simulation results show that such systems can help communities significantly reduce their dependency on the national grid by integrating solar PV locally. The proposed BSCS also shows an opportunity for battery demand reduction and circular battery management for electric rickshaws. The research also discusses the economies of scale of the proposed method in Bangladesh, and pathways for implementing microgrids and smart energy systems. The innovative concepts presented in this research will start a policy-level dialogue in Bangladesh for utilising local opportunities to find an alternative energy storage solution and provide momentum to the researchers for further studies.

Design and Development of an Air Conditioned Electric Rickshaw

Design and Development of an Air Conditioned Electric Rickshaw

Exploring usage patterns and safety perceptions of the users of electric three-wheeled paratransit in Patna, India

Electric three-wheelers (popularly known as electric rickshaws) are battery-powered vehicles that have emerged in many Indian cities as an environment-friendly and energy-efficient paratransit mode of transport. The government of India is developing policies for the broader adoption of the mode to promote sustainable mobility and accessibility. While many Indian cities have been operating electric rickshaws, little is documented about the usage patterns of this mode. An investigation into the usage patterns and safety perceptions of the riders would provide essential inputs to the planning and design of electric rickshaw services for a city. Using a primary data collected from Patna, India, the study explores the travel patterns and safety perceptions of electric rickshaw riders. Statistical models were developed to investigate the effects of socio-demographics and travel context attributes on trip rate, mode replacement and continuation of the use of electric rickshaws in the future. The analysis reveals that electric rickshaws replace a majority of trips made on conventional (gasoline-based) auto-rickshaws. It is found that electric rickshaw is a popular mode choice for educational—and shopping-related trips and students are the frequent users. Further, to identify the most relevant safety issues related to electric rickshaws, grey relation analysis (GRA) was applied to the scaled items. The results disclose that the users are highly concerned over the light body, solid covers and railings, and about the rear-end protection of the electric rickshaws. The on-board safety of small children is also of high concerns. Individuals who opine that electric rickshaws require rear-end protection or need solid covers and railings will be less likely to use this mode in the future. Further, females are less likely to continue the use whereas students would use electric rickshaws in the future, all else being equal. The findings of the study would help develop plans and policies for the improvement of electric rickshaw services to have a sustainable public transportation system that is less dependent on conventional fuels.

Passengers’ perceptions of safety in paratransit in the context of three-wheeled electric rickshaws in urban India

The electric rickshaw is a battery-powered three-wheeled paratransit that has gained popularity in urban India due to its flexible service and affordability. It is an environment-friendly and energy-efficient paratransit mode of transport. However, there remain serious concerns about the safety of its occupants in the heterogeneous traffic conditions prevailing in India. This paper presents a preliminary study to understand passengers’ perceptions of electric rickshaw safety in Patna, India. Such a study is important to design safer vehicles, promote safe driving behaviours, and create a safer driving environment. The study applies descriptive and econometric analyses to investigate the safety perceptions of 388 participants. The results reveal that there are two latent constructs associated with passengers’ attitudes towards safety, unsafe vehicle structure and unsafe vehicle dynamics. The first construct includes statements related to the structure of electric rickshaws such as an unstable body, the lack of rear-end protection, and absence of solid railings and coverings. The second construct includes statements concerning dynamic aspects of the rickshaw, such as fear of overturning and reckless driving. Further, this study finds that passengers’ perceptions of both safety constructs vary based on individual and household characteristics. The results suggest that females, older individuals, and high-income passengers are strongly dissatisfied with the unsafe structure and dynamics of the vehicle. Individuals from car-owning households display greater concern about the unsafe vehicle dynamics than those from non-car owning households,. Finally, the study estimates an empirical model to explore the overall safety perceptions of electric rickshaw riders. The model highlights that participants attach equal importance to both safety constructs and that there is no individual-level variation regarding the overall safety assessment of passengers, as reinforced by the statistical insignificance of socio-demographic characteristics.

Energy consumption prediction for electric rickshaw based on load variance

Electrical Rikshaw forecasting is usually a univariate time series forecasting problem. The recent increase in load variance of electric rickshaw has lead to large available datasets. In this case, we use the machine learning approach based on Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The accurate energy consumption of electric Rickshaw forecasting is depended to train and test real dataset. The time series of electric Rickshaw observed in Mechanical Labs of Universitas HKBP Nomensen, Medan, Indonesia. The main aim of this paper to generate the observation of energy consumption from the electric rickshaw and look for accuracy of electrical load in the substation.

Chronic poverty, technology and human development: A comparative analysis of cycle rickshaw pliers and electric rickshaw pliers

Chronic poverty, technology and human development: A comparative analysis of cycle rickshaw pliers and electric rickshaw pliers

Occupational Satisfaction of E-Rickshaw Drivers with Reference to Itahari-Nepal

Seeing many electric rickshaws plying on plain rural and urban areas has become a common sight these days. Empirically, it can also be seen that many overseas returnees are taking up the occupation as an e-rickshaw driver as a means of financing their family needs. In the backdrop of this context, this research paper attempts to explore the challenge & opportunities associated with their occupation, their intention to switch from their current occupation, satisfaction of e-rickshaw drivers of Itahari, Nepal. This study used a structured questionnaire to collect primary data from 95 electric rickshaw drivers of Itahari. For data analysis, the researcher used Statistical Package for Social Science- 20. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used in the study. The findings of the study shows that, on average the e-rickshaw drivers are satisfied with their current occupation, majority of them do not have intention to switch occupation. The commonest problems faced by them are “the condition of the road” and “traffic problem”.

Design of an Electrically Powered Rickshaw, for Use in India

The main aim of this article is to present research findings related to the design of an electric rickshaw for use in Kolkata, India, identifying weaknesses in the current cycle rickshaw, developing a design solution to address problems found, and exploring the possibility of utilising solar power. Through research and testing it was found there were many design issues, concerns with health and safety, comfort, and ergonomics. All problems found were addressed by implementing design upgrades. The testing of the current cycle rickshaw identified the power and energy required to implement an electric drive system, where a 500 W 24 V DC motor and a battery capacity of 220 ampere hours was used in conjunction with a pedal assist system to provide a range of up to 52 km. A conceptual prototype was developed to prove the successful application of a pedal assist system, which was established as a viable option for design. The design has been critically evaluated and the relevant issues discussed.

Benchmark fuel economy for a parallel hybrid electric three-wheeler vehicle (rickshaw)

The core contribution to this work is the development of benchmark fuel economy for a three-wheeler hybrid electric rickshaw and its comparison with heuristics controllers designed with optimal and non-optimal rules. Dynamic programming is used as a feasible technique for powertrain benchmark analysis. A parallel hybrid electric three-wheeler vehicle is modeled in MATLAB/Simulink through forward facing simulator. The dynamic programming technique is employed through the backward facing simulator, ensuring optimal power sharing between two energy sources (engine and motor) while keeping the battery state of charge in the charge-sustaining mode. The extracted rules from dynamic programming forming near-optimal control strategies are playing a vital role in deciding overall fuel consumption. Unlike the dynamic programming control actions, these extracted rules are implementable through the forward facing simulator. From the simulation results, it can be concluded that a substantial improvement of fuel economy is achieved through the application of dynamic programming. Rule-based (near-optimal) strategy using dynamic programming results shows about 9% more fuel consumption as compared with the dynamic programming (benchmark solution), which is then compared with non-optimal rule-based heuristics controller. It is shown that non-optimal rule-based controller has 18% more fuel consumption than dynamic programming results.

Prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases and its Associate Factors among Government Employees in Biratnagar, Nepal

Non-communicable diseases have along duration and slow progression. It is estimated that the attribution of NCDs in mortality has been rising gradually in Nepal. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with NCDs in Biratnagar, Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted among government employees in Biratnagar, Nepal from August to December 2016. We used self-administrated modified WHO STEPS survey questionnaire and distributed to all government employees of Biratnagar Sub-Metropolitan. We used complete filled 323 questionnaires to analyze and draw the results. The prevalence of NCDs was found 72 (22.3%). Hence, 322 (99.6%)government employees had exposed at least one established risk factor of the NCDs. The prevalence of use of any type of tobacco products was 60 (18.5%) and consumption of alcoholic products was 187 (57.9%). More than two-thirds respondents answered that they consumed fruits once a week. Most government employees consumed vegetable regularly.The majority 193 (59.6%) respondents used motorcycle and electric rickshaw as means of transportation. Out of the total participants 60 (18.6%), 19 (5.9%), and 6 (1.9%) reported hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases respectively. Prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases has been seen in Government Employees in Biratnagar, Nepal. Most of them had at least one associated factor related to NCD was found.

Accidental strangulation by electric rickshaw

The dupatta and sari are the traditional Indian wear. The loose end of both makes the females prone to sustain grievous injuries while traveling in an electric (E) rickshaw which has become a very popular means of transport on the streets of capital and national capital region. We report here a case of accidental strangulation with a dupatta sustaining airway trauma with a serious consequence leading to significant morbidity.

Technology, knowledge and markets: connecting the dots—electric rickshaw in India as a case study

Innovation is a process of integrated thinking. The interactions between technology, market and the need for technology remain unconnected. Connecting these unconnected dots leads to a market disruption, paving the way for an economically viable innovation. India has various national-level programmes that foster innovation environments for the creation of economic empowerment. This paper looks at one such innovation: the soleckshaw: solar electric rickshaw. The emergence of these electric rickshaws came from enhancing the design of already existing cycle rickshaws to create better rickshaws, which are socially acceptable as they reduce human drudgery and are environment friendly, leaving a low-carbon footprint. The case being highlighted here, that existing knowledge connected with existing technology to address a need, leads to new consumers and new markets and eventually causing a technology-led policy intervention. The paper also looks at the role non-exclusive licencing plays in the absorption and dissemination of an innovation.