New guidelines for e-rickshaws

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation Thursday issued new guidelines for battery operated e-rickshaws, saying the civic body will fix the fares and also put a speed limit of 15 km per hour on the vehicles.

The guidelines are yet to be passed by the standing committee, a municipal official said.

The e-rickshaws will also have to abide by the traffic rules and instructions of traffic officials.

"The municipal corporation may make it mandatory for each e-rickshaw to install speed governors," said the Battery-operated Rickshaw by-laws 2014 framed by the SDMC.

As per the guidelines, one person can only own one e-rickshaw and the person driving it must possess licence issued by the competent authority under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988.

With submission of the living and permanent address proof, a registration certificate will be issued by the authority and then the rickshaw has to be produced before the inspecting authority, who will be an official of the municipal corporation.

The registration certificate will be valid for five years after which it has to be renewed. The registration certificate will only be given once a fitness certificate is produced.

The fitness certificate has to be renewed every year.

The e-rickshaws will have to place their registration number both in the front and rear ends. This registration number will have a group of letters followed by a code and not exceed four figures.

Further, the e-rickshaws can only ferry four people at a time and can ply in areas permitted by the competent authority.

People who already own e-rickshaws will have to get themselves registered within six months after the guidelines come into effect. There are over one lakh e-rickshaw drivers in the national capital.

The Delhi High Court has banned the plying of e-rickshaws in the capital.