Speed Walker Ventures (India)

Battery Powered Rickshaws

Concept Note & Brief Proposal
Introduction Rickshaws powered by solar energy could be our next mode of transport in not too distant a future. Its not going to be easy though, India already has close to 10 million of these vehicles currently
on roads. To commercially develop these vehicles, and get them on roads is a tough long drawn task. However, everything needs to start somewhere. Maybe we start seeing fruits 10-15 years down the line. The way forward is to fund this through urban development mechanism to ensure the deployment in a fast paced manner. In recent times various schools of thought have emerged on the concept of deploying such machines especially in urban environment. It has been observed that in a city due to increasing number vehicles the average speed of any vehicle does not exceed 15 to 20 KM/hour. Due to continuous work to develop the infrastructure/repairing of the existing roads and pipelines in the cities traffic jams are caused. The misperception in the minds of town planners that all this can be rectified by expanding the roads and increasing the network is clearly visible with no abetment in the problems. On the contrary these problems have been on the increase with every passing year. Slow moving traffic and traffic congestions also have a spiraling effect on the environment. Vehicles consume more fuel and emit more smoke. Once we provide the travelers options to use vehicles which can practically take them from anywhere to any place in a city/town with impunity they would gradually realise the futility of using their own vehicles. If these vehicles are also eco-friendly and provide the ease of use, embarking and disembarking, boarding from any corner of the street and de-boarding at any place of their choice, these machines are bound to become popular. They would generate additional employment by way of driver cum ownership model and also for operating the Charging Stations across the city/town. While the traditional rickshaws are controlled by the contractors (which are a kind of mafia in its own style) who own as many as hundreds to thousands of these depending upon the type of cities that they operate in, there are just a hand full of those who own them. By directly providing finance for the end user we would be opening up a Pandoras Box and are thus likely to see a flood of requests from these poor paddlers. Project Proposal

It is proposed to launch battery powered rickshaws in the various cities and towns of the state of Madhya Pradesh along with the necessary finance options for end users to buy these rickshaws and become the direct owners. The ultimate benefits to this segment of our society would be colossal and would go a long way in improving their life. In addition, the benefits for
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the environment would be by way of less pollution, less consumption of fossil fuel (when these machines replace some of the other types of public transport systems), quicker movement of traffic leading to less congestion in inner city areas thereby further reducing the pollution. A Model Battery Powered Rickshaw

The model shown above is the one designed by CSIR and manufactured at CMERI, Durgapur. The technology has been transferred to some select manufacturers across the country. There are a few other manufacturers we are currently dealing with who have

come out with some very innovative concepts. Current plan envisages launching 2000 such machines in about 20 cities across the state. Depending upon the size of the city /town we could deploy about 100 machines in each city/town. This would be just a test case and as these systems get deployed we expect more demand for the use of these environment friendly machines in smaller towns and villages also. Economics There are two types of systems that are currently being considered: 1. Semi-Powered- These machines are provided with a system which is designed around a small size low powered motor and which requires paddling in between by the driver.
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2. Fully Powered- These machines are fully motorized using higher powered motor system and do not require being pedal pushed. Pedal system is provided only for use in some emergencies where the battery is exhausted. The cost of these ranges from a low of Rs 26,000 to about Rs 75,000 depending upon the power and the various features offered. Battery Banks Battery Banks would operate as an independent business unit. These would be powered using the Non-Conventional Energy systems and the charging costs paid out of their routine operational expenditure by the Rickshaws. There will be a network of these stations across the city to ensure full coverage. Conclusion By creating an innovative deployment plan our battery powered Rickshaws can make a lot of difference to the environment, remove human drudgery and generate employment for the lesser educated and those at the lower strata of society. As compared to launching the new designs and models of automobiles these would surely be far more beneficial in all respect.

About Speed Walker Ventures

Speed Walker Ventures is unit of Kapok Value Group. The Group is engaged in following types of ventures: 1. Renewable Energy Systems a. Solar PV and Solar BIPV systems b. Micro-Wind Turbines Systems c. Bio mass/Bio gas d. Mini and Micro Hydro Power systems 2. Waste Management a. Municipal Solid waste b. Plastic Waste-to-Fuel c. Waste Water Treatment d. Treatment of Static Water Bodies-Removal of Algae e. Waste-To-Energy 3. Sustainable Buildings, Structures, Town Planning and Eco-friendly transportation

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Associate companies of the Group have world class technologies most of which have been developed indigenously and are now in the process of launching these on commercial basis.

For further queries may please contact at; speedwalkerventures@gmail.com or satish@kapokvalue.com

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