Imagine a city where commuting short distances on e-scooters was a reality! Inspired by the impact of Lime, a transportation-rental company based in the United States, Pradeep Narava, a city-based software engineer, built foldable e-scooters called Rideabird. These e-scooters have plenty going on from occupying less parking space to it’s low cost of operation, but most importantly they could play a key role in reducing air pollution in Visakhapatnam.
Last year in October, he introduced five scooters for joy rides near Kali Mata Temple at the Beach Road. After an overwhelming response from the public, few months later he added 10 more scooters at Indira Gandhi Children’s Park, opposite Hotel Novotel at the Beach Road. The demand has been growing and now people are reaching out to him to buy the scooters. In the last four months, he has sold 20 scooters, each costing ₹30,000, in Visakhapatnam and Kakinada.
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- Manufacturing process Individual spare parts are ordered from China and assembled in Visakhapatnam.
- Features LED battery indicator; LED headlight and tail lights; IP54 dirt, dust and splash proof
- Max Speed Up to 24 kilometres per hour (kmph)
- Weight 12 kilograms; Body aerospace-grade aluminium
- Battery 7800 mAh; 800 charge cycles; Distance on full charge 30 kilometres; Charging time Approx five hours
- Max load Below 100 kilograms
- Brakes regenerative and disk breaking
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Few months ago, Kishore Kumar, a local resident, purchased five scooters from Narava and started a side business at Rushikonda Beach. And the response has been encouraging, he says. “Each day, I easily get 25 customers. The cost of charging five e-scooters is recovered in just one ride,” he adds. According to Narava, on a full charge Rideabird can travel 100 kilometres.
He believes foldable e-scooters can be used in our day-to-day lives as well. “Rideabird can be integrated by hotels on the Beach Road so that their customers can visit the points of the attraction. As of now, I’m in talks with Indira Gandhi Zoological Park about integrating Rideabird where visitors can go around the zoo at their own pace,” he says.
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Despite Rideabird’s unique proposition, Narava finds it challenging to convince customers to purchase it for personal use. He feels people are yet to recognise the potential of e-vehicles. “If people keep comparing e-vehicles with the traditional vehicles, they will only see its short comings,” he adds. According to Narava, until people get access to e-vehicles they will not understand its potential. He hopes his initiative will help people integrate e-vehicles in their everyday life. For instance, instead of walking or taking a rickshaw to the bus stop or metro station you can use these e-scooters.
- The government will provide additional income tax deduction of ₹1,50,000 on the interest paid for a loan taken to buy an electric vehicle.