Electric vehicles to fleet's age, Delhi becomes first state with cab aggregator policy

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To facilitate the discussion on the Draft Aggregator Scheme 2021, the Delhi Government convened a virtual round-table consultation to deliberate on the various contours of the policy on January 24. The discussion was preceded by an announcement by the Delhi Government to mandate a transition to electric vehicles in the ride aggregators and delivery services sectors and focused on the overall regulation and operations of aggregators in Delhi.

The event came days after the Delhi government notified the draft policy under which ride aggregators and delivery services will have to mandatorily adopt electric vehicles while procuring a new fleet. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot also tweeted about the consultation and shared details about the draft policy, according to which, all vehicles onboarded shall bear commercial registrations, and all new vehicles onboarded shall not be older than five years from the date of registration.

All the vehicles in the fleet shall not be older than eight years from the date of registration, and onboarded vehicles must have a visible logo or branding of the concerned aggregator, as per the draft policy. The transport department in a statement said the round-table consultation was attended by over 100 participants from on-demand service mobility operators, fleet aggregators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), last-mile delivery operators, civil society organizations, and experts.

Under the leadership of Hon'ble CM @ArvindKejriwal, Delhi has become the first state to announce the draft Aggregator Scheme to mandate #electricvehicle fleets for ride aggregators and delivery services. #zeroemission #100%electric@rmi_india pic.twitter.com/m4Ta5LFtoN — Kailash Gahlot (@kgahlot) January 24, 2022

More than 80 industry leaders participated in the discussion and shared their feedback and suggestions on the seamless implementation of the fleet aggregator scheme. Transport Minister of Delhi Shri Kailash Gahlot, Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport), and Principal Secretary (Environment) of Delhi Government were also present during this virtual conference.

"The round-table consultation today started with the inaugural address and keynote speeches highlighting the intent of the Delhi government to achieve a transition of 10 percent of the new-onboarded two-wheelers and three-wheelers by aggregators to be electric within the first three months from the launch of the scheme, and 50 percent n the first year of the scheme," the statement said.

Similarly, under the scheme, the aggregators will be required to convert 5 percent of their new onboarded four-wheelers to electric within 3 months, and 25 percent by the first year of the scheme, it added. The Delhi government in a statement said, "Ride aggregators and delivery services will have to mandatorily adopt electric vehicles in their new fleet. The Kejriwal government has become the first in India to draft an aggregator's policy to mandate EV fleet; the draft policy has been placed for public opinion for 60 days."

During the meeting, Gahlot said, “Under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, we are fulfilling our promises towards a successful implementation of the EV policy. Delhi has become the first state government to notify an aggregator's policy to mandate electric vehicle fleets for ride aggregators and delivery services.” He added, “The state government has also launched the state's electric vehicle website, which serves as a one-stop destination for all insights on electric vehicles in Delhi.”

Highlighting the need for partnerships and collaboration across the EV ecosystem and the adoption of aggregator policy by the Transport Department, Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport) said, “We are committed to promoting the adoption of electric vehicles in the city to address the issue of growing air pollution. However, we are keen to ensure a smooth transition of the ecosystem and not create major disruptions.”

"The draft scheme conveys the intent of the Delhi government, and subsequently, the feedback and suggestions received on the scheme shall enable us to create a conducive environment for these businesses to operate and flourish," he said. 

With inputs from PTI