By admin
We have a story behind our electric scooter rentals that dates back to the engineering/ITER college life of our founder, Ankur B Patel. A two-wheeler that is instantly available and affordable to all was the trigger for this initiative and we all know how needy it is to have a mode of commute while in college. Let us hear from Ankur, as he narrates the story of driEV.
Most of you might know how it feels to patiently wait for hours to borrow our senior’s or friend’s bike just to go out for a movie or attend the weekend music classes or just to go out to see the city. How many times did we end up being late or cancelling our plans? I have been through this and I know how it feels because owning a vehicle for a student from an eduloan burdened middle-class family was a little too much in 2007 and even today, I hope India’s economy hasn’t undergone drastic changes.
After two years of waiting for bikes, in 2009, I somehow managed to purchase a bike from my senior for Rs.8000 which became the saviour of the whole PG, especially for a group of six friends whenever it comes to going somewhere. It’s a little nostalgic today to recall those trips that we had on it back then and no matter where we went, that bike has never had trips with less than three people on it! I think it’s the memories that lie around that two-wheeler and the comfortable trips that it has provided that makes it special and therefore the only reason why I still hold it like a treasure today, after 13 years! The unavailability of rental bikes in those times was the only reason why I had to take up the struggle to purchase a second-hand bike because it was more of a necessity than leisure.
We all have been patiently waiting for our turns or are still waiting for it and as a student, I had wondered… what’s the solution to this? This thought loitered in my mind and the love for Robotics helped me to keep my research on. My interests in renewable energy took me to the realisation that the cost and energy consumed while riding fuel-based bikes are very high when compared to electric scooters. Also, the amount of carbon footprints that are released into the atmosphere while riding a petrol scooter for 50 Kms is 50x more when compared to that of an electric scooter. Can you believe it?
The love for nature and the projects on renewable energy had later helped me narrow down to the concept of providing scooter rentals that are cheaper and eco-friendly for transportation. Back in 2007-2011, when the prices of Lithium batteries were high, this wasn’t a reliable option. After years of experience in renewable energy and financial technology, I saw the idea taking its shape.
I am still thankful for having attended a course at IIT Mumbai on Renewable Energy & Business where I was able to listen in to the inspiring session by the Indian Scientist, social entrepreneur, author and professor, Chetan Singh Solanki. When the professor reiterated the fact that the speed of the solution should be more than the speed of the problem that the world is facing today, I realised that renewable-powered electric vehicles can be the change-makers. This ignited the research on how to club renewable energy and robotics together to tackle the biggest problem of all times – transportation! With the decreasing price of Lithium batteries and the increasing need for an eco-friendly transportation mode, the market opened the scope for the electric scooter rental platform.
Though the initial motive behind this initiative was to provide a better means of transportation for the college students to help them travel within the city, explore, attend extra classes etc, our Founders realised that there is a much bigger need outside the campus, for the larger public who is struggling to meet their daily needs without a means of reliable and safe transport. That’s how the idea of launching the long-term rental plans for the common people came into place. Today, driEV realises that availing an electric scooter in Odisha is all that is needed to fulfil the basic needs and solve the biggest problem of transportation.
At driEV, the right co-founders who had the same vision along with a young team filled with enthusiasm and pro-activeness brought together the perfect working chemistry. The team together dreamt about how life can be changed by a fleet of electric scooters in Odisha and how it will turn it into a greener place to live in. Right from serving the micro-mobility needs of the common man, the raging dream of youth to own a bike to the forgotten needs of a senior citizen, a cheap and safe mode(30-35 km/hr speed) of transport is all that we offer to bring a smile.
Being self-reliant is the best boon that one can have today and through driEV, we offer you electric scooters for long-term rentals for the best market price that you can’t deny. I would say COVID-19 crisis is not the real crisis. Once the vaccine gets ready, we will defeat the virus but what we all have forgotten or chosen to ignore during our busy schedule is the real crisis! The one for which we really aren’t ready – The Climate Change! So, this is a small initiative from the team driEV to combat climate change and tackle the transportation problem.
