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Compare e-Bike (electric Bike) with other mode of transportation
Bheema.Upadhyaya - 28 March, 2013 | Bangalore | Electric Bikes | Analysis | Private transport | Transport | noise pollution | Pollution | energy saving | Smoke Pollution
Submission: I repent for *not* having an electric bike back in 2009, when I relocated to Bangalore.
I am submitting because I realized the benefit so late. And I read this article only today. My experiement with e-bike is really successful against many goals I set.
Here is my own comparison with other modes of transport for a travel of 10Km. This is very rude comparison and biased(?) ;)
Parameter
Bicycle
eBike
MotorBike
Auto Rikshaw
Company Cab
Car Pool
Own Car(Self Drive)
BMTC
Last Mile Connection Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Depends Yes Depends Cost of transport(approx) 0x 1x 18x 100x 0x (But some companies charge) 25x(If 2 people pool) 50x Volvo=35x Ordinary=12x (Longer the travel less the cost ) Initial Investment 7k 35k for least model 50k 0 0 7lakh 7lakh 0 Maintenance Cost/Year 0 0(No maintenance required) 5k(?) 0 0 15k 15k 0 Freedom from dust - A/c C C C C B A A B Ambience Comfort - Hygene A A A B B A A C Energy efficiency B (Geared are better) A (No belts/chains) B NA NA NA C (You are spending all energy for just one person) Flexibility of timing A A A C C B A C Physical Effort/Health Benifit Yes No(Yes if your battery runs out - Good exercise too) No No No No No No Beat the (Traffic) Jam A A A B B (Depends on driver, not you) C C Z (Worst) Duration including signal waiting(1 min for 5 signals)/jams, but considering beat factor(you guessed it) 30min(Easy ride 20kmph) 20min (25 kmph) 10min (60kmph) 15min (30kmph) 10min(60kmph) 10min(60kmph) 10min(60kmph) 15min (60kmph) - 5 stops Carbon Footprint Saving/person (Air Pollution) A(Best) A B C B(More the people better) B(More the people better E(Worst) C(Depends on condition of engine though) Speed comfort C C A B A(Very fast-more than required) A A B (Depends on driver) Dependency on others No No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes(Worst) Traffic Police Worries :) in general No No Yes No (Yes if driver is caught) No (Yes if driver is caught) No (Yes if driver is caught) Yes No Risk of theft of your items L L H L L L L H Risk at late night travel L M H H L M H M (If no people are less in bus - then high) Accident Safety Rating C C C B B A A A Risk on forgetting items in vehicle H L L H H L L H Parking Worries(Cost & Space) L L L L H H H L Noise L L M H H L L H(Very) Space Occupied on Road Vs No of passengers A A A B B A(As being pooled) C A Risk of theft of vehicle - Marking high for all :) given nature of our people H H H NA H H H NACost Parameters of electric bike are considered as 1x
Example Approximate cost of transport for example 10 Kms Bicycle= Rs.0 / eBike=Rs.1(Rs.5 per Unit, 50Km/Unit) Motorbike=Rs.18.5 (@40km/ltr & Rs.74/letre) Autorik = Rs.100(Rs.20 Min + 8km*Rs10) Car = (Rs.74/lit , 15Km Milage)
Rating = A Good B=Medium C=Poor
Please feel free to comment and discuss and add more parameters. I will cross post this in facebook too.
H=High L=Low M=Medium
Update: Added another row (Parking)
Update: Added another row (Noise)
Update on 5-Apr-2013 : Added last 2 rows
COMMENTS
The powerful myth
psaram42 - 3 April, 2013 - 03:58
Clean electricity is a myth. It is clean only if it is generated by wind mills or pelton wheel using water gravity. [Like Linganmakki power station using Sharavati river water] If it is generated by burning fuel it is worse.
Solar panels is another successful innovation. Wind power is also being harvested in Karnataka.
However I am not impressed by Bheema having an electric bike.
Govt. subsidy for electric vehicles
vatsan007 - 4 April, 2013 - 03:32
Mahindra has launched its new version of a fully-electric car "e2o". This is a welcome development, however, the onroad price of this car in Bangalore is around Rs 7Lakh. The same car is priced Rs 1Lakh cheaper in Delhi as Delhi Govt. is providing a subsidy of around 15%. Why doesn't Karnataka Govt. follow suit? Govt. should encourage both industry and citizens to adopt pollution free mode of transport, which is very much needed in a highly polluted city of "Namma Bengaluru".
PS:
In the US (around an year and a half back), fully electric vehicles were given a subsidy of $10000 by the Govt. I remember one of my friends going for a fully electric vehicle by Nissan encouraged by this huge deal. Also, the companies there provide free charging spots in their parking lots (encouraging employees to adopt to a pollution free mode of transport), which in turn gets benefitted through a tax sop promoted by the Govt.
@psaram42. 100% right. I am going solar
Bheema.Upadhyaya - 8 April, 2013 - 06:28
Cant agree more with you psaram. Howerver, I am fine you not being impressed :) Your feedback is more valuable to fellow Praja readers.
Well, I am backward integrating to solar panels. I am getting solar conditioner installed this week-end at my rooftop. Just for everybody's info, specs of my installation(capable of charging my electric-bike too).
1.Sinex 800VA/12V/50A LCD Display
2. Luminous Solar Tubular Battery with C10 Rating - 100AH
3. 360 Watts Solar PV Module from HHV (180 Watts * 2 No's) (Edit: 300watts *3 = 300Watts
Also comparison was not done
Bheema.Upadhyaya - 5 April, 2013 - 07:23
Also comparison was not done just because it was green(er) powered, but in general. I have added few more rows.
Use of vertical walls
psaram42 - 6 April, 2013 - 05:12
Is it cost effective to integrate solar panels on all vertical walls of a house too?
In a quantum leap in the field of solar power generation, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi dedicated 600 MW solar power projects to the nation recently. Charnka's 'Gujarat Solar Park', which is spread across 3,000 acres, has already attracted investments from close to twenty one national and international companies. Click - 1
Recently I heard Modi on TV, proposing a Solar panel wall, all along the Pak border as an infiltration deterrent. Of course he has solar panels covering big rivers in Gujarath. A great enthusiast of Solar power I should say!
Transform your Android into a solar panel and impress your friends! Note: This is a fun app! Just start the Solar Battery Charger app and hold your Android device into the sun or another bright light source. It starts generating electricity and the light bulb in the Solar Battery Charger app shines brighter! Click - 2
Finally Wikiepedia on solar cells
A solar cell (also called a photovoltaic cell) is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. It is a form of photoelectric cell (in that its electrical characteristics—e.g. current, voltage, or resistance—vary when light is incident upon it) which, when exposed to light, can generate and support an electric current without being attached to any external voltage source. Click [3]
eBike has crossed 15K.
Bheema.Upadhyaya - 23 October, 2013 - 15:32
It needs a sustained interest to ride the eBike at slow speed and maintaining descipline. However, I am pleased to share the info that I have driven 15k. This vehicle is serving me all weather so far from June-2012 till date. Following are some points to note( specific to this vehicle)
1. Brakes are not upto mark. So always need to appy both brakes to get effective braking.
2. Honk stopped working.
3. Tubeless tyres got worn out by 10K, so had to replace.
4. Now at 15k, batteries got exhausted. Should be replaced for seamless service. However, for short distance less than 20km per day, it will continue for another few thousand kms I guess.
Rest all fine. Taught me more descipline in driving plus taught me patience on road :)
Today : 19999.9--->20000.0
Bheema.Upadhyaya - 27 March, 2014 - 02:52
Today : 19999.9--->20000.0 Go #eBike go !!! An economy car produces *6 tonnes* of CO2 emissions for every 20,000 km traveled(Oh my M800 !). So I have a reason to celebrate today.
More worthy to compare now :)
Bheema.Upadhyaya - 25 April, 2014 - 06:47
BMTC has increased (Official Link 1, 2, 3) rates by 15% from today !
So comparison becoming more significant till we get "electric shock" from BESCOM which may be anounced anytime after declaration of electric results. But who are charging eBike with Solar Panels like me, nothing can impact :-D
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