The provincial government of Punjab has decided to cancel the electric-bikes project. The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.
According to details, the provincial government decided to cancel the project due to concerns over battery theft and low mileage. However, the meeting decided to go ahead with the plan to provide fuel-powered motorcycles.
It should be noted that last month, the registration drive for the provision of 20,000 electric and petrol bikes to university students across Punjab on interest-free easy monthly instalments was initiated.
The provincial government planned to provide a total of 20,000 petrol bikes and e-bikes in the first phase. Male students will be required to pay Rs11,676 per month instalment, while female students will pay Rs7,325.
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Initially, bikes will be provided to the residents of Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore. On the other hand, students have expressed disappointment over the decision to end the electric bike project and distribute fuel powered motorcycles.
Meanwhile, an official for an electric motorcycle assembling company in Lahore said that the major issue regarding the availability of electric vehicles is their batteries.
He added that charging a lithium battery is also challenging as it takes four to five hours to fully charge and consumes three units of electricity. According to him, the success of electric vehicles in Pakistan is difficult until there is a solid strategy regarding batteries and charging points.
