This again is nothing new and it once again shows that sometimes the best way to go green is to go back to the past until we can find a viable green alternative for the future. The pedal powered or human powered vehicles have been around since a long time and they are still a part of commuting in some parts of the world. But they are disappearing at a very a fast rate and with growing technology and rapid urban lifestyle is making sure that they run out of business. But Stockholm now has a cool green pedal-powered vehicle to drive you across the city.
Stockholm’s Ecocabs will be available from May through September each year and will costs you 40 Swedish Kronor (about $6.50) per 15 minutes. The drivers of these ecocabs won’t have to do all the pedalling as each ecocab will have a 12v self-charging battery-driven engine that helps the driver go up hills (and to run the indicator lights). The maximum speed is 25 kilometres per hour but the average speed is usually half of that. This is more of a green initiative than a livelihood for the really poor as it is in many of the third world countries till today.
But the situation is not that bright for these cabs too sa they apparently rely more on advertising than on the money they make out of their rides and that is the reason for them being draped in advertising. Hey, whatever works for green commuting!
