e-taxis set to take city by storm soon

Hyderabad: In a major fillip to green mobility, e-taxis will hit the Hyderabad roads soon. The State government has decided to provide electric vehicles in place of cars which run on fuel to all beneficiaries under the ‘driver empowerment programme’.

Official sources have confirmed that this time the programme which is also called ‘Driver-cum-owner’ scheme that empowers the drivers from weaker sections to own a vehicle through financial assistance will be offering e-vehicles through various Corporations. “This time we are seriously considering the proposal for distributing e-vehicles as part of this scheme. Besides being much affordable in terms of power consumption, this will mitigate the environmental concerns,” said one of the higher-ups.

Drivers in the State are discouraged to switch over to EVs owing to the different reasons including the high cost of e-vehicle, State government’s policy, technical issues regarding charging stations and other issues. However, a recently held meeting between the State officials with organisations working on green solutions proposed to push the idea of e-taxis. The government’s financial assistance would be encouraging and pave the way for bringing down the number of cabs operating on fuel. The Finance Corporations of different communities which have been distributing vehicles under Driver-cum-owner scheme over the years will now give away the e-vehicles to beneficiaries.

The Telangana Four Wheeler Drivers’ Association State President, Shaik Salauddin who is batting for EVs, hopes that this is an encouraging sign. He said that one of the primary reasons for drivers not keen about the EVs is the high prices, despite the Union government’s push for such vehicles.

There is at least Rs 2 to 3 lakh difference between similar models of cars which run on fuel and electricity. “As the State and Central governments have yet to arrive on an understanding over the policy to push for EVs, the cost remains high. We hope that if the Corporations provide the vehicles under subsidy, it will not only contribute to green solutions, but also lessen the hardship of drivers,” felt Salauddin.

During the previous government, 300 vehicles were sanctioned in the year 2019-2020 by Minority Finance Corporation and in phased manner and they were distributed till 2023. However, the present government is aiming to finish this at the earliest to have an impact on the next elections, particularly the GHMC. The Congress government aims to reach maximum beneficiaries with the budget allocation of Rs 432 cr to TS Minority Finance Corporation (TSMFC). This is an increase of Rs 162 cr compared to the previous financial year.