KOCHI: As Kerala moves to introduce e-vehicles, the transport department is taking steps to develop basic infrastructure for operating these vehicles in city. Transport secretary K R Jyothilal said that KSEB has invited bids from private agencies to set up charging stations.“The intention is to supply power at the rate of Rs 5 or Rs 5.5/unit at these stations. An eight-minute charging technology will be introduced for fast-charging. There will be battery swapping stations along with charging stations where motorists can exchange batteries that have no charge,” he said, adding that a mobile app will be developed for Kochi, by which motorists can locate charging stations and book a slot for charging.Jyothilal said that a workshop would be organized in a month to finetune the state’s electric vehicle (EV) policy. The government also wants suggestions from experts on the policy. KSRTC is planning to introduce an entire fleet of electric buses. Initially, it will introduce 10 electric buses from Nilackal to Pamba during next pilgrim season at Sabarimala . “After the season ends, these e-buses will be brought to Kochi,” he added.State government’s target is to bring in 10 million e-vehicles by 2022. But, experts said this plan is over ambitious unless the state came out with a clear roadmap in a timebound manner.Director of Indian Institute of Road Safety Upendra Narayan said e-buses will have a tough time on Kochi roads. “E-buses are usually low-floor buses with low ground clearance. Big speed breakers and unscientificallyconstructed roads and flyovers will easily damage the motors of these buses which are kept near the axles; the wear and tear will be maximum. Hence, government should take a scientific approach towards constructing roads and bus bays before rolling out e-buses,” he said. Narayan was sceptical of how good the charging stations might be. “It needs to be checked whether KSEB has enough manpower to execute such a massive project. The reliability of uninterrupted power supply is a major concern,” he added.Executive director (research and advocacy) of Centre for Science and Environment Anumita Roychowdhury said the most-challenging task will be the setting up of enough public charging points. “People will want to know where they can charge their vehicles if they run out of charge midway. If charging points are reliable, more people will move towards e-vehicles,” she said.Even e-vehicles are not fully eco-friendly due to the severely polluting nature of used batteries. Setting up facilities for the safe disposal of such batteries will be the second challenge, she added. For setting up such a facility in Kochi, which is already struggling with waste management issues, will not be an easy task. Meanwhile, government is keen on promoting e-autos. As the first step, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd is gearing up to introduce e-rickshaws from Metro stations. Transport commissioner K Padmakumar said that the department was proceeding with the EV policy.“Now, we do not issue new permits to autos as there is a limit on the number of permits that can be issued. Government is planning to provide 2,000 more permits, but these additional permits will be issued only for e-autos,” he said.

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