Ever since Sunderbans native Indrajeet Burkait, 24, bought a second-hand e-rickshaw or toto as the locals call it, his electricity bill has gone up from ₹300 a month to around ₹900.

Sometimes, and especially during monsoons, when there is a long power cut, spread over days, he has to resort to charging the EVs using diesel generators. Each charge costs ₹250— about half of the day’s income— covering two litres of the oil for ₹200 and remaining ₹50 for the service. In Indian parlance, this sort of makeshift measure is called “jugaad”. In policy terms, this can be called an infrastructure breakdown. The repercussions of such stop-gap arrangements are long term—on the e-rickshaws, their drivers, users and on India’s larger energy transition plans.

It’s been said in the past that India’s “EV revolution” has been led by e-rickshaws, that “India’s rickshaw revolution has left China in the dust” — that too without much support from the state. The sector has grown rapidly despite lacking infrastructure, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a lot of people lost jobs.

Back in 2010, the streets of Delhi were the first to witness e-rickshaws on the road during the Commonwealth Games. A little over a decade later, India became the biggest market for electric three-wheelers globally—with a sales figure of over 5,80,000 in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

“Aaj-kal competition bohot badh gaya hai. Sab yahi kar rahe hain. (There’s a lot of competition in this work [driving e-rickshaws] now. Everyone is doing this),” says Jugal Kishore Soni, 38, who drives an e-rickshaw in Jaipur.

In Delhi, e-rickshaws without number plates are ferrying passengers, violating traffic norms and endangering the safety of many on roads. There was a 53% rise in e-rickshaws’ road rule violations last year. Reports estimate that 40% of e-rickshaws on Delhi roads may be illegal. Unregulated e-rickshaws have also turned into a “menace” in Guwahati as well, among other cities. The Uttarakhand high court has taken a step towards addressing the mismanagement, encroachment and traffic violations by e-rickshaws. To top it all, the batteries used are not eco-friendly and, to a large extent, also illegal—running without the specific battery requirements or the paperwork.

This growth, therefore, can be compared to that of a petulant child—uncontrolled, without proper checks and balances and effective interventions. The result? Indiscipline and chaos. While e-rickshaws are causing mayhem on city roads, in remote towns, the ease of connectivity that they offer comes at a huge financial cost for the drivers, who are burdened with vehicle loans and infrastructural deficits.

But is it too late to rein in the wheels ? It isn’t, say experts, provided that the government acts immediately.