Delhiites favour transition to EVs by last-mile delivery, e-commerce companies

Consumers in Delhi are strongly in favour of the government's proposed aggregator scheme, under which last-mile delivery and e-commerce companies are supposed to switch to electric vehicles in a time-bound transition, a survey noted. As per the scheme, the government has set a deadline of April 30, 2030 for the complete transition of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) to electric vehicles (EV) among e-commerce, delivery and transport logistics service providers.

The survey was commissioned by the Sustainable Mobility Network and conducted by CMSR Consultants. It showed that 80 per cent of the 1,508 respondents in Delhi attributed last-mile delivery vehicles as one of the reasons for rising air pollution in the city. 95.2 per cent of the respondents agreed that a switch to EVs by delivery companies is important for addressing air pollution issues and mitigating climate change, the survey revealed.

The survey was conducted through a mix of offline on-ground interviews - constituting 70% of respondents and online survey responses including 30% of respondents in Delhi. The survey also found that an overwhelming majority of respondents - 91% - believe that proactive action and transition by one company can encourage others and bring rapid change in the sector.

Delhi has been at the forefront of electric mobility transition in the country and the city is aiming to become the first to have 8,000 electric buses as part of its public transport fleet. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, said his government plans to achieve 80 per cent electrification of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTV) fleet within the next three years. Recently, the national capital added 97 more electric buses delivered by Tata Motors. These buses will operate under the jurisdiction of the DTC. 50 of them will be stationed at Rajghat depot. Each bus takes around 40 minutes to fully recharge.