A VISIT TO THE WORLD'S TALLEST STATUE A SPECIAL MOBILITY ZONE

Dedicated EV only, public transport mandates are limiting access to polluting vehicles in the eco-tourism pockets of the country. Ashish Bhatia visited the Statue of Unity, a special mobility zone to check on the equation.

- Ashish Bhatia

The country has been focusing on creating eco-tourism hubs to boost the regional economy, social infrastructure, environment generation and protection and tribal development, in turn, boosting livelihood generation. In doing so, it has focused a great deal on creating special mobility zones. These special mobility zones, typically, restrict private, ICE vehicles from accessing the monuments at the centre of the zone and a big draw for tourists. The approach to the monument and the surrounding tourist hotspots can be accessed on foot or quicker, using cleaner mobility solutions: from electric bikes to tricycles and footboards, to electric golf carts, electric three-wheelers and e-buses at the upper end of the passenger carrying capacity in the spectrum. The business model is to offer these at fixed rates for to and fro trips, some as free shuttles, that one can opt for either as a hop-on hop-off option with other options like self-drives on a rental basis. To support these vehicles, typically, the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) enters into a partnership with the state government offering a minimum business guarantee or on a pilot, and with technology and charging infrastructure companies or they are supported under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model like the case with electric buses, for example. This has led to the emergence of an entire ecosystem, from charging to maintenance, including driver training to help operators acclimatise in line with the zero fossil-fuel policy.

ON GROUND ZERO