Hyderabad: Techie develops solar-powered pedal taxi

Hyderabad: In view of increase in fuel prices and also to reduce the usage of fossil fuel consumption, Pranay Upadhyay, an IT employee, has developed a 'Community Pedal Taxi' that runs on solar power up to 25-30 km per hour and it is one of its kind in the city.

A trial run was organised on Bachupally crossroad to Miyapur crossroad on Monday. Speaking to The Hans India, Pranay said, "The fuel prices are skyrocketing with every passing day and the consumption of fuel is leading to environmental pollution.

I am a strong advocate of not using cars for intra-city singleton commute and for the past 10 years, I have been cycling to my office. In this journey, I have come across many people and realised that they are a few who find cycling unsafe and are forced to use cars. Especially, the senior citizens who have problems of balancing a cycle due to their age. To solve these problems, I envisaged the Community Pedal Taxi as a pilot project that runs on solar power."

Explaining about the features of the Taxi, he said it took nearly 9 to 10 months for developing it. "Sometimes cycling can turn monotonous. But in this taxi, seven people can travel. Five persons, including the driver, have to pedal, while the two seats are reserved for the disabled or for senior citizens who cannot pedal. Also top of the taxi has a solar panel just in case if the rider gets tired and does not wish to pedal, and with the help of a solar panel, the battery gets charged.

To make urban cycling safer, in this Community Pedal Taxi pedal, riders only have to pedal, the responsibility of maneuvering the vehicle in traffic lies with the driver. This can easily run up to 25-30 km per hour and the cost of this taxi is Rs 60,000. Anybody who buys this can easily re-assemble it very easily." During the trial runs, feedback would be taken from people for improvising the taxi, he added.