With increasing awareness about the deterioration of the Earth’s climate, people all over the world are trying to adopt a greener and sustainable way of life. The introduction and widespread acceptance of different kinds of electric vehicles is a positive step in this direction.
Various automobile manufacturers are coming up with different kinds of electric vehicles and people seem to be quite happy about switching from petrol scooters to electric scooters. I decided to switch to one after I got a good understanding of the key features of electric scooters from an experienced business owner who sells bike batteries in Indore. Before buying my first electric scooter I literally did a comparative study of both and here are my observations.
What are the differences?
Petrol scooters are known for their convenience. However, electric scooters are slowly gaining popularity due to their interesting designs and contribution in reducing carbon emissions.
Availability:
While petrol scooters are easily available in a wide range of models almost everywhere, there are limited options in electric scooters. Electric scooters are slowly gaining popularity and as of now, automobile dealers selling these can be mostly found in developed cities and towns only.
Convenience:
It is quite convenient to maintain petrol scooters as there is already a set infrastructure to aid in it. Not only can you quickly refuel the vehicle in any petrol pump, you do not have to think twice before taking it to a regular bike mechanic if any part malfunctions. However, with India’s infrastructure not yet fully ready for EVs, neither can you re-charge your bike everywhere, nor can you take it to any regular mechanic for a quick repair in the event of a breakdown. Options are as such quite limited in the domain of electric scooters.
Pricing:
Electric scooters always earn the brownie points in the pricing debate as people all over the world are concerned about the rising prices of fossil fuel as well as its environmental impact. Electric scooters are more economical as they give the same mileage as petrol scooters, but at a much lesser cost.
Maintenance:
Petrol scooters have a complex engine and many other mechanical parts which need regular maintenance and replacement in order to ensure that the vehicle runs smoothly. Electric scooters need relatively less maintenance and can work just fine for years together until the battery wears out.
Operational Range:
In India, while there are petrol pumps everywhere, it is still difficult to find charging stations for EVs. This is one of the primary reasons why people are still not very confident about buying electric scooters as they fear being stranded in the middle of the road if the battery gives up. Re-fuelling is never an issue with petrol scooters and as such they are still the popular choice.
Electric scooters are definitely here to change the way people commute but that would only happen if the country has the right infrastructure. In fact, not just the infrastructure, the country also needs to address the knowledge gap that persists in this domain by training more and more people in the repair and maintenance of EVs. Today, even if I have to get my electric bike’s tyre changed in Indore, I only go to an authorized dealer as I cannot trust other mechanics. However, once more and more people are trained in this domain, EV owners will not have to worry about such trivial issues and more people will adopt this sustainable mode of transportation.
