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Aussie-Brit duo in tuk-tuk champion low-carbon future on Bengaluru roads

Aussie-Brit duo in tuk-tuk champion low-carbon future on Bengaluru roads

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BENGALURU: This red solar-powered tuk-tuk (autorickshaw) on the Bengaluru roads on Monday was a head turner. Inside it were two excited foreign women, who were on a world expedition on their auto to spread the message of a sustainable, electric and low-carbon future.

Having started in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2018, SolarTuk Expedition team completed 3,000km in the continent before going global. The global expeditition started with Thailand and the tuk-tuk was shipped to India.

The current team — Talia Rose, 25, a biomedical and electrical engineer from Australia and Claire Jenkins, 35, an entreprenur in human resources from the UK — started their India journey of 1,500 km from Chennai on August 15. They arrived in Bengaluru on Sunday and is now on their way to Mumbai.

“India has been an amazing journey. We are still getting used to Indian roads and its rules. We have had problems with cows on roads and curious people taking selfies while riding motor bikes! People are even more interested as we are two women in an auto,” said Talia. The team covers around 200-300km in one day at a maximum speed of 50km per hour. “But Bengaluru traffic made it slower than usual,” she said.

“It was amazing to meet like-minded people. We wanted to have an e-auto race with them, but again Bengaluru traffic played spoil sport,” she said.

“We try to reach as many people as possible who are interested in solar power and renewable energy and we plan our route to meet them. Global greenhouse practices have to come to transport. There is already awareness on the benefits of solar energy here — it is renewable, non-polluting, less noisy and cost-effective. However, it’s not enough. Not only should awareness levels be higher, but people should be given financial aid to convert vehicles to renewable sources of energy. Government should also provide supporting infrastructure like charging points,” said Claire.

Another team from Australia will drive the auto to Delhi from Mumbai before it is shipped to Iran. Around 20 countries will be covered, including those in Europe and North America.

The tuk-tuk was designed by students of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and can carry four passengers besides the driver.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes
Anand Gupta Editor - EQ Int'l Media Network

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