The humble rickshaw has reinvented itself with a motor retrofit capable of generating a top speed of 18kmph to give autorickshaws in Salt Lake a run for their passengers.

The township's fleet of motorised rickshaws is already 60-strong and growing every day, thanks to the potential returns on investing in a 375W motor and four 20Ah rechargeable batteries with a combined energy output matching that under a Mitsubishi Pajero's hood.

An accelerator on the right side of the handle, two shock absorbers above the rear wheels and a footrest for feet relieved of pedalling duty complete the ingenious mechanical makeover.

Salt Lake's version of the motorised rickshaw doesn't qualify to be an e-rickshaw, though. Like the toto that has swamped parts of Calcutta and its fringes, the rickshaw retrofit treads a legal tightrope.

On May 6, Calcutta High Court directed the state transport secretary to set up a committee to suggest ways to "drive out the menace of illegal totos and vanos plying in the city and its suburbs". Such vehicles, the division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Arijit Banerjee ruled, cannot ply without a licence.

A few weeks later, a visiting team of scientists from the Pune-based Central Institute of Road Transport said that totos do not conform to the recommended safety norms and shouldn't be allowed to ply on national and state highways as well as roads with heavy bus traffic.

So, if the factory-built toto treads a legal grey area, where does the retrofitted rickshaw stand? Metro the new addition to Salt Lake's public transport options.

The mechanism

The motor is ignited with the turn of a key on the handle. A switch on the right side of the handle activates the battery.

As the driver rotates the handle to the right (like in motorbikes), the rear axle rotates and so does the front wheel, both linked by a chain. The accelerator is on the handle.

A drum brake fitted to the rear axle acts as the main brake. When the foot brake is applied, the belts attached to the drum brake tighten and the rickshaw slows down. A pair of conventional rickshaw brakes for the front wheel is attached to the left handle along with an electric horn and an LED headlamp.

A three-pin standalone charger is used to charge the batteries.

Rickshaw vs auto

Autos have been the preferred mode of public transport in Salt Lake for many years, primarily because they cover most parts of the township and drop residents almost on their doorstep, just like rickshaws.

Salt Lake has as many as 15 auto routes, the majority of them illegal, but there has been no crackdown on their operation so far. This has relegated the cycle rickshaw, which used to be the residents' choice for their last-mile commute, to an option that is taken only when an auto ride isn't there for the taking.

Faster travel for lower fares has, of course, been the key factor in the auto trumping the cycle rickshaw.

"We could not have competed with autos without adapting to the requirements of passengers. With a motorised rickshaw, we now offer a faster and more comfortable journey. A passenger does not have to share the seat with anyone too," said Sushanta Dhar, who owns a retrofitted rickshaw.

Retrofit vs manual

Saikat Halder completes four trips between City Centre and Mayukh Bhavan by the time a cycle rickshaw finishes two. "My rickshaw runs much faster than the regular ones and is much comfortable as well. I don't need to pedal and the shock absorbers spares passengers the usual bumpy ride," he said.

The retrofitted rickshaw comes with a hood and scores over the cycle rickshaws even in the looks department.

"I first spotted one such rickshaw two months ago when I was about to board a cycle rickshaw near City Centre. I switched and the journey was smoother and faster. Since then, I have always looked for a battery-operated rickshaw for travel within Salt Lake," said Ritwika Ghosh, a resident of FC Block.

The retrofit assembly is currently available at roadside units in Baguiati, Kestopur, Jagatpur and Barasat. According to the sellers, the price of a new retrofitted rickshaw ranges between Rs 55,000 and 65,000. The cost of retrofitting an older rickshaw is around Rs 35,000.

"Naihati was the first place where cycle-rickshaw operators started retrofitting motors, imitating the concept of battery-driven cycle vans. It worked. Now, people are coming out with innovations to make the motorised rickshaw faster and safer," said Swapan Bera, a graduate who owns a retrofit unit at Jagatpur, off Kestopur.

According to Bera, manufacturing a new battery-powered rickshaw takes two to three weeks. "I sell around two rickshaws a month and there are enquiries every month. Some people want to sell their old rickshaws to buy new ones and a few even ask for EMI facility. In some cases, I have allowed buyers to pay me in three instalments," he said.

Bera said motorised rickshaws were plying not only in Salt Lake but also parts of Baguiati, Dum Dum and Barasat.

Although the fare structure remains the same, passengers say they prefer the retrofitted rickshaw over the traditional one because the journey is faster and smoother.

Legal angle

Cycle rickshaws are categorised as "non-motorised transport" and hence it is illegal for them to run on motors.

According to a notification issued by the Union ministry of road transport and highways in January 2015, "an e-rickshaw is defined as a special-purpose battery-operated vehicle having three wheels". They cannot run on motors with power exceeding 2,000W and the maximum speed of such a vehicle cannot be more than 25kmph.

The notification also states that any e-rickshaw should be purchased only from a manufacturer certified by government agencies like the Automobile Regulatory Authority of India (ARAI) and the Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune. A driver is required to inform the local road transport authority about any such purchase so that the date of manufacture of the vehicle can be embossed on it. The driver needs to undergo specific training and obtain a certificate from the transport department regarding successful completion of the procedure before plying the vehicle.

Based on these guidelines, a rickshaw with a motor retrofit is illegal, although the authorities have yet to officially acknowledge the advent of a new form of transport in Salt Lake.

Traffic cops deployed in Salt Lake said they hadn't received any directive and so weren't sure how to prosecute anyone doing business with a motorised rickshaw.