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In an eco-friendly initiative, a fleet of battery-powered pollution-free vehicles were inducted into the Capital's transport system on Friday to provide commuters feeder services from the Metro Railway stations.

The service, modelled on the lines of similar services in Tokyo, New York and Berlin, was launched by Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit.

First cluster

To start with, the first cluster will comprise 25 such vehicles and operate between Malaviya Nagar metro station and Select City Walk Mall at Saket in South Delhi.

The promoter of the project, Green Wheels Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the Argentum Group, said they plan to introduce a total of 5,000 such vehicles, branded as G-Rik, within next 15 months for which negotiations are being held with various government agencies.

“The new service is aimed at bridging the last mile connectivity to major vantage points in the city. These eco-friendly electric vehicles will bring in world class mode of travel, and provide a more efficient, faster and better quality public transport system,” Argentum Group chairman Ajay Singh said.

The vehicles will be directly managed and operated by Green Wheels and its staff. To ensure a hassle-free ride for commuters, the company has put in place a ticketing system with a fixed fee of Rs.10 per passenger per ride.

With the commencement of this service, Delhi will now be on par with some of the most advanced cities in the world offering eco-friendly electric vehicle feeder service, he said.

“While the Delhi Metro network has expanded really fast, it has also highlighted the inherent need for an efficient feeder service for commuters. We are confident that it will be a step towards ensuring that the last mile connectivity issue is no longer a sour point for commuters,” Mr. Singh said.

The three wheeler G-Rik was developed after extensive research and development by Green Wheels for over two years and has been fully customised to adapt to Indian conditions.