Electric vehicles highlight of Less-traffic Day

The second Less traffic Day included an exhibition of electric auto-rickshaws and bikes by several companies with the Transport Minister H M Revanna stressing the need to shift to electric vehicles to check pollution in the city.

The early morning event at Cubbon Park also drew a positive response from the people who enjoyed free rides on e-rickshaws within the park premises. Youngsters who took the electric bikes for a spin said they liked the vehicles and opined that rising petrol prices may make other bikes costly in the coming days.

Revanna said taking public transport and avoiding the use of personal vehicles is one of the best gifts for the next generation. "Last month's Less-traffic Day had seen the average pollution levels in the city going down by 20%. Officials have also taken public transport today. To encourage commuters, BMTC has reduced the price of daily bus pass by Rs 5," he said.

Revanna said the process to induct electric buses into the city bus fleet has started and 40 e-buses will be introduced in the coming months.

Due to the maintenance work, Namma Metro started functioning only after 10.30 am. Commuters who had arrived for the event on a bus and wanted to take the metro to return home had to wait for a while for the trains to chug in. Unlike the previous edition of less traffic day, BMRCL did not extend any discount to commuters travelling by metro.

Reality TV star-turned-actor Pratham rode an e-rickshaw in support of the government's initiative to make people avoid private vehicles second Sunday of every month.