Despite fire incidents, riders still prefer e-scooters

By Rachana Ramesh | NT

Bengaluru: More than half a dozen e-scooter fires over the past month appear to have diminished electric vehicle users’ enthusiasm.

A Bengaluru executive’s escooter caught fire in Hosur on April 30. He had a miraculous escape as he jumped off the scooter when he noticed the fire.

E-scooter fires even led to deaths. On March 25, a man and his daughter died when the scooter battery burst while charging in Vellore in Tamil Nadu. On April 20, an 80-year-old was killed in Nizamabad in a similar incident.

These incidents have raised safety concer ns among the vehicle owners who bought electric scooters because of the soaring petrol prices.

Bindu Maringanti, an architecture student at Wadiyar Centre for Architecture in Mysuru bought the electric scooter about seven months ago because of the rising fuel prices. “Had the fires happened seven months ago, I would have definitely changed my mind and bought a petrol vehicle,” she said.

“There are no records of mishaps with the brand of electric scooter that I own. This gives me a little confidence to continue but otherwise, I would be terrified,” she added.

Investigations are on to find the exact cause of the fires. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently constituted an expert committee to enquire into the incidents. The panel has been asked to recommend remedial measures too. Experts say that the reasons could be short circuits in batteries caused due to poor-quality cells or inept battery management systems. When the battery is vigorously shaken on poorly kept roads, substandard mechanical packing of the batteries can also trigger short circuits.

Even as some electric twowheelers are catching fire spontaneously, a video of a man voluntarily setting his e-bike on fire over battery charge issue has gone viral on the internet. Fed up with his electric scooter’s poor performance and service, the extreme step by Prithvi Raj, a psychotherapist from Tamil Nadu, apparently has forced people opting for electric vehicles to double-check their choice.

“It was my worst decision to buy an electric scooter. The battery can drop from 50 percent to zero in the middle of the road. Customer service is also pathetic. On calling repeatedly for more than one week I have received no response. I suggest others to not burn your amount on this dabba,” wrote Amit Kumar on his Twitter.