Ghaziabad to be first in Uttar Pradesh to get e-auto

GHAZIABAD: The state will soon get to see its first electric auto-rickshaw plying with the regional transport office (RTO) of Ghaziabad giving registration number to a vehicle. The development comes seven months after state government approved the plying of e-autos.
Ghaziabad resident Mukesh Kumar, who became the first person to get the e-auto registered in his name on Tuesday, said he had been looking for an alternative to CNG autos for a long time and after seeing e-rickshaws, he wondered when such vehicles would be launched in the city.
“I started doing a recce and found that a Vijay Nagar shop was selling e-autorickshaws. So I bought it and applied for a registration not knowing that the government was offering a concession on it, as it is permit free,” Mukesh said, adding that he bought the vehicle for Rs 3.35 lakh. The price is almost the same as that of a CNG auto.
Assistant regional transport officer (ARTO) Vishwajeet Singh said that the daily cost of operating an e-autorickshaw is less than Rs 50. “It takes four hours to fully charge the lithium batteries and after that, a vehicle can go up to 125 km and it consumes just three units while charging,” said Singh. “Compared to a CNG auto, which gives an average of 20 km/kg, e-autos are much cheaper and they do not cause noise and air pollution,” Singh added.
“It is the first electric auto-rickshaw to get permit in the state,” he said.