CHENNAI: Deciding on the mode of transport to travel short distances, say a kilometre or so, can sometimes leave one perplexed. You can either choose to walk the way or cough up a few coins or rupees for a rickshaw drive. But what if you got to travel free to reach such destinations, and your chosen mode of transport caused no damage whatsoever to the ecosystem?Tirupur-born Sivaraj, a young entrepreneur, has had this vision for three years and with a little bit of luck, Chennaiites may get to enjoy this eco-ride, let’s not forget, completely free of cost. An ‘Eco Free Cab’, which will run on solar, electrical and mechanical energy, is set to hit the town in the next few months, if things work according to plan. This Eco Free cab will be used to ferry passengers between two close destination points such as Rountana to Anna Arch, Madhya Kailash to Tidel Park and so on. “The eco free cabs will have two batteries that will absorb solar and electrical energy. They will operate primarily on these two,” says Sivaraj, who also happens to be its inventor. “It has a pedal that, if used, will in return generate more energy to the batteries, for the cabs to operate,” he explains. Sivaraj’s Eco Free cabs are already plying at Dublin in Ireland, Canada and China. “I’m in touch with advertisers in Chennai to use these cabs to promote their products. The revenue I earn from them will be used to ply the vehicles free and pay the salaries of the drivers,” says this 26-year-old MBA graduate from the UK. But what about him losing his branding on the vehicles? “Well, it will instead give another identity to the cabs and encourage people to use them more,” he says. “Apart from the ones that will ply for free, I plan to produce them for sales as well, once all the formalities are completed within the next few months.”These Eco Free cabs are a modified version of the cycle rickshaws and have a three + one seater. They can hit a maximum speed of 45km/hr. “Considering Chennai’s traffic woes, I doubt if any diesel or petrol-run vehicle can move faster than that,” Sivaraj laughs. “But what is important to note is that these cabs will run without using any pollution-causing fuels,” he emphasises.Explaining the reason for coming up with such an unique vehicle, Sivaraj says, “I always had the entrepreneurship skills in me, considering my family is into business. As petrol and diesel are precious commodities, and ones that will not last forever, I came up with this idea of creating an eco-friendly vehicle. I bought a cyclerickshaw and redesigned it myself. I named it Eco Free Cabs, an eco-friendly cab with a free service.”
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