In a bid to enhance last-mile connectivity for Delhi Metro commuters, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) recently launched a fleet of 25 e-rickshaws from Jamia Millia Islamia Metro station of Magenta Line. According to a press release issued by the DMRC, these E-rickshaws, called ‘ETO’ will be plying from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM on a daily basis, providing last-mile connectivity to nearby areas such as Gaffar Manzil, Batla House, Okhla Vihar, Hazi Colony, Zakir Nagar and Noor Nagar, etc. In order to ensure seamless service throughout the day, a Charging Station has also been set up for these electric vehicles, the DMRC stated.
Initially, only 25 ETO e-rickshaws are being introduced into service from the Jamia Millia Islamia Metro station which in the next few days, will be increased to 50 e-rickshaws, covering two more metro stations of Magenta Line- Sukhdev Vihar station and Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh station. These e-rickshaws are GPS-enabled and are specially designed with full front windscreen and a covered cabin to provide last-mile connectivity to commuters within an area of 3 km to 4 km around metro stations. The fares for these e-rickshaw services have been kept very nominal at Rs 10 base price for the first 2 km and Rs 5 for a subsequent kilometre. People can also book e-rickshaws through the ETO app and pay digitally for their rides.
To run these services from the above three Delhi Metro stations, DMRC has partnered with ETO Private Limited (Operator) and GEM Vehicles Private Limited (Manufacturer) under their brand name ETO. At present, more than 300 e-rickshaws are already providing last-mile connectivity facility to commuters from 36 stations spread across the Delhi Metro network. In Delhi Metro’s continued efforts to boost last-mile connectivity, the corporation will be further launching e-rickshaw facility from 15 more metro stations by the end of next month, DMRC added.