![\"\u200bRama](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-131824513\/rama-shankar-shukla-shifted-to-cng-amid-concerns-over-its-availability.jpg\" "\\"Rama")
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Rama Shankar Shukla shifted to CNG amid concerns over its availability<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mamta\u2019s experience highlights a question policymakers will increasingly confront: Can charging and service infrastructure grow at the same pace as vehicle adoption? Auto driver Rama Shankar Shukla remembers the uncertainty surrounding the landmark transition to CNG in the early 2000s. \u201cI switched amid fears over whether there would be enough CNG,\u201d he recalled. \u201cBack then, CNG would come in tankers and people would rush to fill their vehicles. There were long queues.\u201dOver time, the infrastructure expanded and concerns eased. \u201cBy 200506, things started settling.\u201d<\/p>\nPermit & regulatory hurdles<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Infrastructure worries aside, drivers also face growing competition from app-based services and bike taxis. Regulatory hurdles add another layer of difficulty. Shukla points to permitrelated issues that often require repeated visits to govt offices. \u201cThere\u2019s a mistake in the spelling of my name on Aadhaar because of which every time I go for permit renewal, I end up paying Rs 10,000 to touts,\u201d he said.Delhi transport department data suggests the shift has begun unevenly. Electric auto-rickshaw registrations increased from just 55 in 2021 to 1,097 in 2022, and further to 1,426 in 2024, before effectively stalling over the past year.The reason is not demand alone. Senior transport department officials said fresh registrations have remained frozen because of the city\u2019s permit cap. Delhi has a ceiling of about one lakh auto-rickshaw permits, a limit linked to court directions aimed at controlling pollution and managing vehicle numbers.Thus, even as govt prepares to mandate electric autos for future registrations, virtually none have been registered in the past one-and-a-half years.Transport minister Pankaj Singh said the situation will change once the new EV policy is notified, and 40,000-50,000 ageing autos would be replaced by electric over time. Govt is also examining legal options to increase the overall permit cap, potentially allowing more e-autos to enter the market, he said.Auto unions argue this issue requires urgent resolution. Rajendra Soni, general secretary, Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh, said the permit ceiling has become a major bottleneck. \u201cDelhi\u2019s population has increased significantly, but the permit ceiling is the same, due to which new e-auto registrations haven\u2019t been happening for more than a year,\u201d he said.The contradiction is hard to miss. Even as Delhi is set to ban new CNG auto registrations, the pipeline for new e-autos remains constrained by permit limitations.<\/p>\nCharging & cost challenges<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
On a hot afternoon near Lodhi Garden, Vikram Sharma waits beside his electric cargo three-wheeler as it charges. Unlike Mamta, he cannot charge at home and depends entirely on public charging stations. A full charge provides a range of 110-120 km.Before switching to electric, Sharma operated a CNG cargo vehicle. One advantage of EVs, he said, is regulatory flexibility. Cargo vehicles often face \u2018no-entry\u2019 restrictions during certain hours. EVs enjoy exemptions in some cases, helping operators complete deliveries more efficiently.Yet charging remains a challenge. \u201cIt takes up to four hours on a slow charger and about one-and-a-half hours on a fast one,\u201d he said.For a commercial operator, those hours represent lost earning time, underlining a key challenge that extends beyond passenger autos. Delhi\u2019s electrification push is increasingly encompassing cargo movement, delivery fleets and logistics operations. That means charging infrastructure must serve multiple categories of users simultaneously.To accelerate adoption, the draft policy proposes financial incentives for e-autos. Eligible buyers would receive Rs 50,000 during the first year, Rs 40,000 in the second and Rs 30,000 in the third. An additional scrapping incentive of Rs 25,000 has been proposed for owners replacing older BS-IV and earlier vehicles with electric auto-rickshaws.The incentives acknowledge a fundamental challenge: upfront costs remain one of the biggest barriers to adoption. However, drivers and industry stakeholders say incentives alone may not be enough.Charging availability remains uneven across neighbourhoods. Anil Chhikara, faculty member at Asian Institute of Transport Development, said, \u201cMany drivers live in rented accommodations where installing private charging points is difficult. Service ecosystems are also still developing. Unlike CNG vehicles, which can be repaired by mechanics across the city, EVs often require specialised technicians.\u201d Financing also remains a concern. Many drivers operate on thin margins and depend on loans. Uncertainty over battery life, resale value and maintenance costs influences purchase decisions.Delhi\u2019s proposed shift to e-autos inevitably invites comparisons with the transition to CNG in the early 2000s. That transformation succeeded not simply because of regulatory mandates, but because infrastructure gradually expanded to support the change. CNG stations multiplied, fuel availability improved and public confidence grew.<\/p>\n\u2018Need to build an ecosystem\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
The challenge before policymakers today is similar, though technologically more complex. Electric mobility requires not only charging stations but also reliable electricity supply, battery servicing networks, trained mechanics and permit systems that enable rather than restrict adoption.For commuters, the change may be visible through quieter rides and cleaner streets. For drivers such as Mamta, Shukla and Sharma, the transition is measured differently , in charging hours, repair bills, permit renewals and daily earnings. Their experiences suggest that the success of Delhi\u2019s e-auto revolution will not be determined by policy targets alone.\u201cWe understand it depends on whether the city can build an ecosystem that makes electric mobility not merely mandatory, but practical. Only then can Delhi replicate the success of its CNG transformation,\u201d minister Singh said, adding that the city\u2019s fast charging capability is expanding.<\/p>\n\n
![\"Why](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-131824636\/why-evs-arent-an-auto-matic-choice.jpg\" "\\"Why")
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Why EVs aren’t an Auto-Matic choice<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
For drivers, the biggest attraction of e-autos remains lower running costs. While a CNG auto typically costs Rs 300-350 a day for operations spanning 200-250 km, EV drivers estimate daily charging expenses at Rs 150-220.However, the upfront investment is substantially higher. A CNG auto cost Rs 2.5 lakh when permits were readily available, though resale prices have risen sharply due to permit curbs. In comparison, e-autos cost over Rs 3.2 lakh, depending on the manufacturer and battery configuration.While manufacturers welcome the new policy\u2019s direction, they argue that demand will accelerate only when charging infrastructure expands and financing becomes easier for drivers.The technology itself presents both opportunities and challenges. EVs have fewer moving parts and lower routine maintenance requirements than conventional autos. However, battery replacement is a significant expense, with lead-acid battery systems typically requiring replacement after three years. They cost anything between Rs 25,000 and Rs 45,000.According to union general secretary Soni, a large-scale transition can succeed only if adequate infrastructure is in place.\u201cDrivers need confidence that charging facilities will be available wherever they operate, including in the city\u2019s outer parts. There should also be a robust spare-parts network and subsidies of Rs 1.5 lakh to make the switch viable. Most importantly, the transition should be voluntary, not compulsory,\u201d he said, adding that govt should consult auto unions before implementing such policies.<\/div>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Delhi prepares to phase out new CNG autos, drivers say the EV ecosystem is still catching up New Delhi : Every morning, before Delhi\u2019s roads fill with office-goers, school buses and delivery vans, Mamta waits patiently at her home in Burari. Just outside, her electric auto-rickshaw remains plugged into a charging point. For nearly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-delhi"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Delhi](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-131824880,imgsize-2145989,width-400,height-225,resizemode-72\/as-delhi-prepares-to-phase-out-new-cng-autos-drivers-say-the-ev-ecosystem-is-still-catching-up.jpg\" "\\"As")
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