The state government on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that close to 6,500 autorickshaws in the city have been fitted with electronic meters following a notification issued in February.

The statement was made in a compliance report filed before the court by joint transport commissioner Satish Sahasrabudhhe. The report states that 2,598 new autorickshaws have been fitted with e-meters. The figure for vehicles which have come forward for renewal of fitness certificates is 3,839.

MumbaiItalian scooter and three-wheeler maker Piaggio has reintroduced the iconic scooter brand Vespa in India. In its new avatar, Vespa will be placed in the premium segment, a first in India, claims Piaggio. The scooter will be priced at R66,661, ex-showroom Maharashtra.

“Right now, there is no premium segment in the Indian scooter market, but we believe ther is a significant number of brand conscious young people who would like to make a statement,” said Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles. “Vespa is creating a premium segment by targetting those customers.”

The Supreme Court on Monday expressed serious reservation over the Delhi chief secretary’s failure to honour its August 2011 order, asking him to detail the action taken following a CBI report about the illegal trading of three-wheeler autorickshaw permits in the capital. A bench of Justices D K Jain and A R Dave asked, “This is a very serious matter. Why is the order not complied with even after six months. If the chief secretary behaves in this manner, what will his subordinates do?”

NAIROBI: The auto rickshaw may be losing its way in the transport debate in India, but the ubiquitous three-wheeler is being discussed in global forums as a possible option for sustainable transport. While autos lose out to cars in the Indian consciousness, but when it comes to sustainable urbanisation and transport, they are being touted as a vital last-mile link of giant mass transportation system, something that needs to be encouraged.

The process of listing out authorised vendors for installation of GPS in autorickshaws is likely to begin soon. The autos will be fitted with GPS from March onwards, said officials from the transport department. Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transport System (DIMTS), which will carry out the empanelment process, said the entire exercise would take around 40 days. “We will have to issue a notice giving details of the specifications that the vendors need to meet. Their applications would then be evaluated by us and the entire process is likely to take 40 days.

NEW DELHI: Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) on Monday launched the world's first hydrogen-fuel-run three-wheeler HyAlfa that will ply in Delhi soon.
"As part of its mobility initiatives, Mahindra has aimed at providing alternative fuel technology solutions and the HyAlfa is another step towards it," said Pawan Goenka, president of the company's automotive and farm equipment sectors.

The company did not divulge the price of the vehicle which was unveiled at the Auto Expo here.