Cutting through smoke

Traffic and pollution are two of the most pressing problems that Bengalureans face today. With the steady increase in the disposable income of young professionals here, it is but natural that the number of cars on the road increases too, pulling up with it the level of pollution.

This was one of the reasons that prompted Sanjay Krishnan and his team to start ‘Lithium Urban Technologies’, India’s first ever electric cab service. Started just around a year ago, the cab service has already made waves as the answer to India’s pollution woes.

Says Sanjay, “For any mode of transportation to be successful, it has to be based on clean energy, have a provision for shared ridership and should be connected to the Internet. Keeping all these in mind, we conceived an all-electric cab fleet which is not only environment-friendly but is also more cost-efficient than the other models, considering the fact that there is literally no fuel cost involved.”

That the service is becoming popular is evident from the fact the fleet has grown to 200 cars from the initial four they started out with. With an employee base of around 400 drivers, the service is making inroads into the corporate employee transportation space in Bengaluru.

Says Sanjay, “Our carbon footprint is almost zero. Not only are our cabs emission free but the electricity that we use for charging the cars is also renewable. Calculating the distance our cabs covered in the past one year, the emissions saved are equal to planting three Cubbon Parks.”

But it was not always smooth sailing. From setting up the infrastructure required for charging batteries to convincing people about the economic feasibility of the model and getting drivers on board — the team faced many a hurdle initially. Says Pravin Salins, head of operations, “Our main challenge was in procuring the cars. We use the Mahindra e20, a two-door electric car. Such types of vehicles are not typically used as taxis but that was a risk we were willing to take. It took a lot of planning and trial runs before we could officially launch the service.”

Apart from being an eco-friendly option, ‘Lithium’ also makes sure it provides hassle free and efficient services. Its fleet management is technology driven, the cars have inbuilt GPS that cannot be tampered with by the drivers, and the cab drivers are rigorously trained to provide great service. The fact that it takes only one hour for a full charge makes ‘Lithium’ all the more effective.

Says Rajkumar, one of the drivers employed by the company, “The fact that I am working in a company which is making an effort to make the city greener is something that I am proud of. The cabs we drive are pollution less and match the speed of the normal cars on the road. But the two-door factor can become a problem as the seats in front have to be folded to make way for the customer to clamber to the back seat. And while this is not very comfortable, most passengers are willing to overlook this for the larger cause.”

‘Lithium’ plans to expand to the other metros soon. In Bengaluru, the team is thinking of ways to partner with the government bodies in the future.