 "RE60 ain't regressive: Why Karl Slym is wrong about Quadricycles")
Ashish Mishra
Yesterday Karl Slym, the managing director of Tata Motors, took a dig at Bajaj Auto’s quadricycle, the RE60 calling it a ‘regressive move’. “Why? The government and industry have been accelerating efforts in traffic safety & environment, now we consider Quadricycle. Why go backwards?” he tweeted on the micro blogging site Twitter. Stung by what Slym said, Rajiv Bajaj, the MD of Bajaj Auto said, “If all three wheelers are four wheelers, all such users will travel safer. To argue that three wheeler (or four wheeler) users should all buy cars instead is to effectively tell people who can’t afford bread to eat cake. That approach met with disastrous consequences the last time that it was tried.”
Now let’s look at the points that Slym or Venu Srinivasan of TVS Motors have raised. They are two - 1. The quadricycle, RE60 in this case, is not a safe vehicle. 2. The RE60 will pollute the environment. In my view both these points are bunkum. Here’s why.
Safety: Right from day one, Rajiv Bajaj, the MD of Bajaj Auto has been absolutely clear that the RE60 is Bajaj’s effort to replace the auto rickshaw. Last year at the Auto Expo, he had said, “This is a vehicle for all the people who use a three-wheeler almost everyday. It is a four-wheeler which is a dramatic improvement on the three wheeler.” I spoke with Dr. Dinesh Mohan, professor at IIT Delhi, who is an expert on road safety and transportation. Let me summarize his points below:
-Today three wheelers do not have to go through an impact testing standard. For quadricycles, the government should pass a law where impact test and pedestrian safety is taken care of.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts[caption id=“attachment_731711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Because three wheelers (and quadricycles) are light weight (300-400 kgs), they are more efficient compared to cars and the wear and tear of asphalt roads is almost half that of cars.[/caption]
-A three wheeler has a very low accident rate compared to cars because it is lighter and it travels at low speeds. The RE60 designed as a replacement is a good idea because it is both light and will travel at low speeds.
-World over studies are being conducted to find the ‘urban platform for movement. The solution is not another car. Rajiv Bajaj’s effort should be applauded because the RE60 is an effort in that direction.
-The quadricycle will certainly be more comfortable - seat belts, doors but for the operator it means a higher maintenance cost, something which Bajaj needs to take care of.
-Because three wheelers (and quadricycles) are light weight (300-400 kgs), they are more efficient compared to cars and the wear and tear of asphalt roads is almost half that of cars.
Pollution: For something that looks like a car, the RE60 has the lowest CO2 emissions in the world. That is 60gms/km. If Bajaj is expecting to replace auto rickshaws with this vehicle then for sure it will have to be CNG equipped. And let’s do a quick comparison. What’s the CO2 emission of a Tata Nano? 92.7gm/km. What’s the emission of a Maruti Suzuki Alto? 103gm/km. What’s the CO2 emission of a Bajaj 4S auto rickshaw? 85.6gm/km.
Is this really regressive?
Ashish Mishra writes for Forbes India
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