With automated rickshaws gaining ground in most of the major cities across the world, it was only a matter of time before they realized the kinda emissions this neat little vehicle was letting out. Fortunately, a team of eco-minded developers over at SolarLab are right on it and they have already come up with a nifty solution in the guise of the SolarCab. As the name would suggest, the SolarCab is basically a solar-powered rickshaw that is designed to draw over 80% of its power from the electricity generated by the solar panels covering its outer shell.
And I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but the driver of this innovative rickshaw will have to pedal the thing himself to generate the rest of the 20% power required by the cab. Developers claim that the SolarCab can reduce CO2 emissions as much as two tonnes per rickshaw in London alone. Now generally I’d be very impressed with this stat, but when you take in account the fact that cities like London or even streets of New York don’t generally get that much sunlight on average throughout the year barring the peak of summer, and places like Bangkok or India where they do get a lot of sun, the average rickshaw driver may not have the finances to get one of these, I’m not sure I’d like to buy stakes in the company anytime soon!
Source: Dvice
