Hyderabad gets first electric cars that can be hired, shared
The facility is also available at Madhapur and the Shamshabad airport.
Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metro Rail has launched its first electric car rental facility, in association with Zoomcar and L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited to facilitate first and last mile connectivity.
About 25 Mahindra E2O plus cars are available at a cost of Rs 8.50 per km or monthly subscription of Rs 10,000 at the Miyapur Metro Rail station.
The facility is also available at Madhapur and the Shamshabad airport. The gearless cars can be booked on the Zoomcar app, wherein they would need to upload their driver’s license. Once the booking is confirmed, the car door opens after keying in the code.
“This service is for broader groups. Whenever commuters are not using it, they can share the car with others and get back some of the Rs 10,000 monthly subscription. The overall cost comes down to Rs 5,000”, said Mr Surender Reddy, Zoomcar CEO.
Electric cars have been rolled out by Zoomcar for the first time in Hyderabad, as the government is providing charging facility via PowerGrid Corporation along with L&T HMRL.
“At the Miyapur station, the charging facility is almost 80 per cent done, it will be complete in the next 10 days. In future, this facility will be given in all stations which is in line with the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to switch over from fossil fuels to renewable resources by 2030,” ”, said HMRL managing director N.V.S. Reddy
He said electric cars were less popular because they need about eight hours to charge. “By providing infrastructure, we are addressing the biggest need,” he said.
Zoomcar has deployed 20 electric cars on its platform at the Shamshabad airport. Zoomcar’s PEDL, a cycle-sharing service is offering around 500 cycles in Gachibowli, Madhapur, Ameerpet, Begumpet for people seeking to do grocery shopping, errand running, fitness purposes and cover last mile connectivity. The charges are Rs 3 for 30 minutes.