Goa EV Policy: Good luck for bike taxi and auto drivers in Goa, huge subsidy of 50% will be available on purchasing electric vehicle, 70 new charging stations will be installed.

Panaji/Lucknow. The Goa government has taken a huge and revolutionary step to make Goa, the country’s most prominent tourist state, pollution free and environment friendly. Preparations have been made to approve the state’s new Electric Vehicle (EV) policy in a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Under this new and extremely attractive policy, a historic proposal has been made to provide a bumper subsidy of up to 50 percent to licensed bike taxi (locally called Pilot) and auto-rickshaw drivers in Goa on the purchase of new electric vehicles. The main objective of the government is to completely eliminate the dependence on conventional petrol and diesel vehicles in the state, reduce carbon emissions and halve the daily operating costs of public transport drivers.

Big bet on infrastructure: 70 new EV charging stations to be installed across the state

The Goa government is well aware that expansion of electric vehicles is not possible without strong infrastructure. Keeping this in mind, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has prepared a detailed action plan to establish 70 new state-of-the-art EV Charging Stations to strengthen electric mobility in the state. The network of these new charging stations will increase confidence in electric vehicles not only among the local citizens but also among the millions of tourists visiting Goa. Due to the availability of easy charging system, drivers traveling in coastal areas and long distances will be completely free from the worry of battery drain.

Why is the government’s special focus only on bike taxi and auto drivers?

In Goa, which has a tourism-based economy, lakhs of people travel daily through bike taxis and auto-rickshaws. These commercial drivers cover an average distance of 100 to 150 kilometers per day, due to which a large part of their earnings is spent on expensive petrol and diesel. The government believes that if this category is shifted to electric vehicles, their daily fuel cost will be reduced by a huge 80%. This is the reason why in the new policy, a blueprint has been drawn to give the benefit of subsidy to these sections first and foremost, so that their net monthly income can increase and ‘Green Transport’ can be started in the state.

Extension of old policy: Environment and tourism will both get double boost

Goa already offers various types of financial incentives on the purchase of electric vehicles. Now the government wants to make the subsidy structure more accessible, transparent and attractive through the new policy so that the general public can also be motivated to adopt EVs. Automobile and environment experts say that this large-scale use of electric vehicles will give a boost to Goa’s environment. The country’s economy will benefit by reducing dependence on imported crude oil and the transportation sector will become completely sustainable. If this 50% subsidy scheme of Goa government is successful at the ground level, then Goa will become the leading state in the country to use 100% electric vehicles in public transport, which will give a new boost to the tourism image here at the global level.