Electric cab service gets high-voltage boost in Bengaluru

Several MNCs evince interest in the service launched by Lithium

 Two months ago, when Lithium launched a unique electric cab service for the City’s corporate sector, the 50-car fleet appeared marginal. But in a year’s time, the service is poised to be scaled up to 300 cars, catering to 20 corporates spread across Bengaluru.

Lithium’s CEO Sanjay Krishnan confirmed to Deccan Herald that several firms, many of them MNCs with big employee numbers, had shown keen interest to sign up for the e-cab service. The potential, he explained, is huge. “Forty per cent of IT and ITES companies in Bengaluru depend on office vehicles to move employees from home to office and back. Since many employees work on flexi-time schedules, public transport with no last-mile connectivity is not an option.”

All the Mahindra e2o cars currently in service are factory-fitted with tamper-proof GPS, away from the driver’s control. Connected 24/7 to the Internet, the software attached to this GPS is designed to track any difference in the route and thus ensure commuter safety.

As many as 200 parameters, including odometer readings, are linked to a cloud computing network. Krishnan said the driver thus has no control over operations, bookings or rides. All cars are equipped with a live dashboard which is connected to the companies’ server at all times.

Taxi aggregators countrywide had come under a cloud over safety concerns of women passengers.

As a precaution, Lithium had introduced a panic button in each cab. Any passenger could press this to instantly notify six to seven friends / family members. Besides, the system could be activated to send pings to a relative / friend once every 15 minutes.

But beyond the safety features, the e-cabs make economic sense due to its energy efficiency. Krishnan explained the dynamics: “For every one rupee increase in diesel price, the transportation cost goes up by 20 paise. In the case of electrical cars, the incremental cost of even a 10 per cent rise in power cost is only seven paise.”

Under the current setup, each of the 50 Lithium cars operate seven trips a day, running an average of 35 to 40 km. Charging stations equipped with fast-chargers – which completes a full charge in a hour – ensure that the car batteries are always prepared for a trip. Lithium has put in place 25 such stations.

Studies indicate that India has the potential for sales of six-seven million electric cars and two-wheelers by 2020. As many as 4.5 lakh electric vehicles currently ply on Indian roads.