Electric Buggies in IIT Bombay get stronger, better and cooler

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB) has initiated an electric buggy service for everyone on campus. Commenced on May 17 at 1 pm, the service will be fully available to all faculty members, students, and visitors soon.

Though a few good electric vehicles were available on the campus before some were discontinued, such as the e-shuttles, the new e-buggy comes with renewed features, even suitable for tackling problems during the monsoon season.

Free Press Journal spoke to the General Secretary of Hostel Affairs, Saket Mohta, to understand how the idea originated. He said that there were electric vehicles on campus already, but from a different company until Ideanta, a startup approached IIT Bombay.

"During an open discussion, Ideanta Pvt Ltd contacted us, aiming to provide transportation services (battery-operated-automobiles). Because they had a great plan regarding electric vehicles like bikes, auto and buggies, the IIT Bombay committee approved of it," he said.

The buggy is a tad similar in looks and capacity to what the campus had earlier. But, this time, there have been technical changes to the vehicle. Earlier, the campus noticed power deficiency in the buggy, making it challenging to climb slopes. However, this time, "The buggies are well powered, designed to run better on the slopes of the IITB campus," said Saket.

"Apart from that, the previous vehicle didn't have a proper structure, so it wasn't operational during the rainy season. This time, it has a permanent structure, suited to function much better in monsoon," he added.

As of now, there are three different motors, including the electronic buggy, ready to be launched. However, the campus will be experiencing only trials for the summer, and the buggy service will fully operate only in July.

In the meantime, several factors will be considered, including prices, subscriptions, GPS tracking, and payment methods.

According to the General Secretary, the team is currently working on different kinds of payment methods and GPS tracking. Earlier, the vehicles did not have any trackers on them.

"We are working on GPS trackers this time so that the buggies can be easily tracked from anywhere on campus. Until then, anyone willing to access the vehicle can do so by either buying a subscription of Rs. 450 per month or by buying a ticket worth Rs.10," he said.

The electronic buggy will be available on campus at all times. However, less in number at nightime.