Green e-mobility  goes pink  

 When women take the wheel and cities cut carbon emissions, 

one electric ride at a time. 

India’s auto‑rickshaw sector is one of the world’s largest informal mobility systems, with an estimated eight million internal-combustion three‑wheelers operating nationwide. Emerging in the mid‑20th century as a low‑cost alternative to taxis, rickshaws quickly became central to urban and peri‑urban transport. Their compact size and manoeuvrability made them ideal for navigating congested streets while low purchase prices and operating costs ensured widespread uptake by individual owner‑operators and small businesses.

Today, rickshaws are used primarily for short‑distance passenger transport, providing affordable shared rides to bus stops, workplaces and markets. But they also play a vital role in last‑mile freight delivery, carrying goods through dense neighbourhoods that larger vehicles can't access.

Small vehicles, big pollution footprint 

The downside is that India’s petrol and diesel-powered rickshaws contribute not only to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, somewhere in the range of 8-12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year, but also to air pollution. With their two‑stroke or low‑efficiency engines, they emit disproportionately high levels of particulate matter (tiny airborne particles harmful to health) and nitrous oxides (gases that pollute air and damage lungs) per kilometre compared to modern cars.

When drivers are almost all men, women pay the price 

The auto‑rickshaw sector in India is overwhelmingly male, with women making up only a small fraction of drivers and owners. Barriers such as financial constraints, restrictive social norms and safety concerns have kept women's participation low. 

This imbalance has significant consequences for women passengers, many of whom report harassment or discomfort when travelling in rickshaws driven by men. Surveys show that more than half of women experience harassment while using public transport, rickshaws included. These concerns over safety restrict women’s mobility, limiting access to employment, education and healthcare.

Cutting emissions, raising incomes 

A shift to electric rickshaws (known as e-rickshaws) is one of the most cost‑effective and socially inclusive strategies to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce urban air pollution. Even if powered by electricity from India’s coal‑heavy grid, e‑rickshaws cut GHG emissions by roughly half compared with ICE rickshaws. When powered by renewable electricity, their operational emissions drop even further. But the climate case is only part of the story - the transition also delivers substantial improvements in drivers’ incomes and economic security.

Millions of auto-rickshaw drivers are from low‑income backgrounds - often migrants or daily‑wage earners. Switching to e-rickshaws lowers fuel and maintenance costs, boosting earnings and improving living standards, while also expanding opportunities to operate rickshaws as taxis. Because e‑rickshaws are 70–85% cheaper to run than their petrol/diesel counterparts, drivers can reduce fares without sacrificing profitability. This affordability, combined with cleaner and quieter rides, invariably increases passenger demand, especially in cities suffering from air and noise pollution.

FAME and fortune: the policies behind an electric three‑wheeler surge

The growth of the e-rickshaw sector has been driven by the Indian government’s FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) schemes,  FAME I (2015–2019) and FAME II (2019–2024), which provided purchase subsidies, financing support and infrastructure investment. These policies lowered upfront costs for drivers and municipalities, and made e‑rickshaws cheaper to own and operate. The FAME schemes also created a stable, large‑scale market that gave domestic manufacturers the confidence and resources to expand production, reduce costs and come to dominate India’s rapidly growing e‑rickshaw sector. 

India’s shift to electric mobility is gathering pace. In the 2025 financial year (April 2024–March 2025), electric vehicles accounted for more than half of all registered three‑wheeler sales. The state of Uttar Pradesh and the capital city, Delhi, are leading the surge, but e‑rickshaws are now spreading rapidly across urban India.

Maharashtra's pink e‑rickshaws: empowering women, cleaning cities 

Maharashtra, in western India, is the country’s third‑largest state by area and second‑largest by population. Seeing the climate benefits and income-generating potential of e‑rickshaws, the state government has launched the Pink E‑Rickshaw Initiative, a pioneering programme that combines women's empowerment with green mobility. 

The scheme is distributing 10,000 e‑rickshaws to disadvantaged women, providing them with a reliable source of income while reducing urban congestion, pollution and GHG emissions. The pink branding signals that it's women‑focused, aiming to both empower women drivers and offer safer commuting options for female passengers. The initiative has begun in the city of Pune and will be expanded to seven other cities across the state.

Women can join the Pink E‑Rickshaw Initiative by applying through the state's Women and Child Development Department, with priority given to widows, divorcees and women from low‑income backgrounds. Successful applicants commit to completing free driver training, obtaining a licence and operating the vehicle as a livelihood activity. Their financial contribution is deliberately kept low: women typically pay around 10% of the vehicle’s cost up front - approximately 40,000 rupees (€380/$444) - while a 20% government subsidy and a 70% bank loan cover the remainder of the ₹400,000 vehicle price. 

In return, women gain access to a stable and dignified source of income, supported by integration with ride-hailing platforms, such as Ola and Uber, and with metro feeder services. They also acquire new skills in driving, digital payments and customer service. The initiative offers not only economic independence but also greater visibility, mobility and confidence, alongside the ability to provide safer transport options for other women in their communities. 

Where policy meets practice: Kinetic Green’s central role 

At the centre of Maharashtra’s Pink E‑Rickshaw Initiative is Kinetic Green, the Pune‑based electric vehicle manufacturer that serves as both the technical backbone and the primary implementation partner. The state government has awarded the company a ₹400‑crore contract (€38m./$44m.) to supply the 10,000 pink e‑rickshaws across eight cities. 

Beyond supplying the specially designed vehicles - with a 120‑kilometre range, GPS tracking, enhanced suspension and high ground clearance - the company provides the training, licensing support and technical backbone that enable women with no prior driving experience to enter the sector confidently. Its five‑year warranty and annual maintenance contract reduce the financial risks for new drivers, while its commitment to building the wider e‑mobility ecosystem is evident in the rollout of 1,500 charging stations across the state, including more than 1,000 in Pune. 

Taken together, the company’s manufacturing capacity, infrastructure investment and explicit commitment to women’s economic empowerment make it far more than a supplier: Kinetic Green is the operational engine that turns the state’s policy vision into a functioning, inclusive mobility system.

Driving a fairer, cleaner future for India’s cities 

Maharashtra’s Pink E‑Rickshaw Initiative shows that cities accelerate climate action fastest when social inclusion and emissions reduction are designed as a single, integrated system. By pairing clean mobility with women’s economic empowerment, the programme demonstrates how distributed, human‑scale solutions can deliver multiple benefits: lower emissions, safer streets, new livelihoods and more equitable access to transport. 

Its success will depend on sustained investment in infrastructure, training and digital integration, but the model already points to a broader lesson for rapidly growing cities: decarbonization is not only a technical transition, but a social one. When women gain mobility, cities gain resilience - and when clean transport becomes a pathway to dignity and income, the shift to low‑carbon urban futures becomes both faster and fairer.