At 45 kmph, Salt Lake's battery rickshaws zoom around at nearly thrice the speed of Kolkata traffic

Time of India

23-05-2025

Battery-fitted rickshaws in Salt Lake are reaching dangerous speeds of up to 45 kmph, far exceeding Kolkata's average traffic speed
KOLKATA: Battery-fitted rickshaws in Salt Lake are now touching speeds of 45 kmph, which is almost three times the average traffic speed in Kolkata, a drive by Bidhannagar Police has found.
Last year, the average vehicular traffic speed in Kolkata was 17.4 kmph, which means it took commuters an average of 34 minutes and 33 seconds to travel 10 km. Salt Lake's rickshaws can do the 10-km run in 13 minutes and 20 seconds.
The unregulated speeding has raised safety concerns in the township with residents calling for a crackdown on these rickshaws, particularly after two fatal incidents. On May 13, Shikha Dutta and her dog died after being hit by a rickshaw in BL Block.
Last June, a Netaji Nagar resident had died after being similarly hit near Central Park. Several others have been injured after being thrown off.
Of about 4,000 rickshaws operating from 94 stands in Salt Lake and Sector V, 3,800 have been retrofitted to function as motorised rickshaws, a Bidhannagar police officer said. While the original handbrake of a pedal rickshaw has been retained, an accelerator, indicators and shock absorbers have been added along with an alkaline battery to power the motor.
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"The top speed of these rickshaws ranges between 31 kmph and 45 kmph, which is dangerous for three-wheeled vehicles primarily meant for last-mile journeys," a senior Bidhannagar cop said.
Mend ways or face action: Cops warn e-rickshaws
A Bidhannagar police officer said they were trying out means to limit the speed of mechanised rickshaws and would go for all-out prosecution if the operators did not mend their ways.
At a recent awareness drive conducted by Bidhannagar Commissionerate's traffic division, DC (traffic) Nima Norbu Bhutia issued warnings to rickshaw operators and directed them to install speed limiters by May 31, restricting maximum speed to 25 kmph.
While mechanised rickshaws have led to a sharp rise in the number of trips and earnings for operators, it is the inadequacy of the handbrake to handle the high speed that is causing accidents.
The original handbrakes are designed to handle a speed of at best 15 kmph of pedalled rickshaws. Sharp turns at very high speed often result in these vehicles toppling over. Local residents that TOI spoke to said they constantly fear getting hit by these rickshaws.
"These battery-operated rickshaws are silent and we can't hear them approaching. I constantly fear getting hit from behind. On Salt Lake's narrow roads inside the blocks or within residential complexes, that's very dangerous. They have just thrown in an electric motor without upgrading the brakes," Ashish Ganguly of HA Block.
Sohini Chakraborty, a resident of CJ Block asked, "We need a system in place to check how these vehicles operate. Do the drivers have licence? Are the rickshaws roadworthy?"