The buzz around electric vehicles is so old, that it is not even a buzz anymore. We keep on hearing 'The future of transport is electric' but that future doesn't seem to be approaching. The only thing we see is, millions of vehicles plying on roads, dust & pollution everywhere.
Why is it so? Where is the future that we have been talking about for so long?
Well, let me break the news for you, the future has arrived. In fact, this future, the electric vehicles, that everyone was talking about has been here for quite sometime now. We just haven't been able to identify it. So in this post, I will give 6 reasons, why we should continue this way & not buy an e-bike & keep living the old way.
1. E-bikes are very expensive
The biggest block against e-bikes - its cost. Somehow people expect an electric bike to be around, hmmm.... i don't know. And that's the thing, nobody really knows how much should it cost, but it is definitely expensive at 36,500. Add 5,000 more and one can buy a moped. Add 25,0000 more and one could buy a bike & so on.
It is absolutely irrelevant that petrol bikes demand at least INR 2000 for fuel every month. So that after a year, its actual ownership cost goes upto 60,000 (this, by the way, is for the cheapest petrol powered bike in market) & around 85,000 by second year. Whereas for ebike, OMO Model E.0 for example, it is around 38,000 (for 2 years).
But this is just too much calculations for us, so we will stick to basics. If the purchase bill says, its expensive, it is expensive. Story ends.
2. E-Bikes are slooooowwwwww.....
What's the top speed? Its not 250kmph? Its 25kmph? That's it? You got to be kidding me!!
I don't care about all the traffic jams, which is caused by car owners like me. I like my ride fast. Even though I am unable to use it 90% of the times.
I don't care about the fact that actual time taken is determined more by the traffic lights, amount of traffic on road. All I care about is how quickly can i go from one traffic signal to another traffic signal, which is usually 1km away from each other.
I like to buy my groceries quick quick quick. 25kmph, is just abysmally poor for my speed standards, which is around 17kmph.
3. E-Bikes range is too short
OK. So although, this ebike is supposed to be meant for city commute, it should have a range of at least 200km. How else do you suppose I will commute to work, which is highly likely less than 10km from my home (90% people have have their working place less than 10km away from their homes. For around 70%, its less than 5km)
I don't care if this e-bike is made for city purposes only, what if one fine day I want to ride it for 200km (which is actually possible on ebike, if you can pedal it, something no other electric vehicle can offer. Or you can take extra batteries. But these are unreasonable solutions for a very reasonable problem).
I don't care if majority of daily commute is done for work, groceries, taking kids to school, all of which lie in 10km radius of my home. I want more & thats the end of it.
4. Is it a bike? Is it a cycle? Its just so confusing!!
An electric cycle / e-bike is a confused identity. And i don't like anything confused.
Although one can pedal it or run it on motor with throttle or do both simultaneously, without much hassle, I just don't get how it helps me.
They say I can ride it for exercise, but had i wanted to do that, I would have bought a good quality bicycle (which would have cost me 20,000 - go to point number 1). Why would I buy a bicycle, which i can pedal anytime and switch to throttle anytime just because i am tired or not in mood to ride. Who does that!
And if it is a motor bike, why in the lord's name would it have pedals? I don't care if it runs out of battery & pedals can help me reach me somewhere where I can recharge my battery (portable battery, quick charging is only so handy). If it runs out of battery, I will prefer to leave it then & there (as i would have to do in any other electric vehicle) and think about better things in my life (like, the future).
5. And finally, what about its reliability, its after sales service
Well OK, OK. I know, the above points are just unreasonable apprehensions that our mind is unable to make peace with. But, my biggest fear is that if I buy an e-bike, and some thing malfunctions, what will happen then? How will I get it fixed?
Although OMO Bikes say, their Model E.0 is a Zero maintenance bike. They say, that is has 90% less moving parts than a petrol powered bike. They say, everything is covered under warranty of upto 1 year. But mishaps happen. Accidents happen. Incidents happen. bad luck happens. What then?
However OMO Bikes mention they offer home servicing in more than 20 cities, and have dealer tie ups for servicing & repair in other cities as well, I am still not convinced. I wish they grow their network to every city, town & village in India. Only then, will have the future arrived.
6. Pollution
I know pollution is increasing and all that stuff. I even think global warming is true. But what can i really do? See all that dust, on the roads? I don't want to travel on roads full of dust, smoke, foul smell, pollutants & what not.
I like the comfort of my car, insulated from all the pollution, that people like me are causing for people like me. I really don't care if e bike is actually the greenest mode of commute, and OMO Model E.0 is a carbon negative electric bike. I like AC. Because its hot. Thank you very much.