Heralding the entry of a new type of public transport on city roads, the Centre on Wednesday decided to bring in the quadricycle. Road Secretary Vijay Chibber said quadricycles were safer than the three-wheeler as they have a fully-enclosed body with hard top and doors.
A meeting under the his chairmanship discussed amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) to include quadricycle as an additional category vehicle, to be manufactured and registered in India.
It was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Heavy Industry, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT).
Being monitored by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), the vehicle is a step up from the traditional autorickshaw but significantly cheaper than a car. “Maximum speed limit and engine capacity will be much lower than that of small cars, like Maruti 800 or Tata Nano, depending on the specifications of manufacturers,” said a MoRTH official.
“The decision to put quadricycles on the roads saw a major tussle between two auto majors - Tata, which vehemently opposed it and Bajaj, lone manufacturer of three-wheeled autorickshaws, which advocated it,” he added.
According to a Road Ministry statement on Wednesday, a separate category has been proposed for notification to include quadricycle with specifications adopting present norms notified in the three-wheeler category of CMVR or the European Union quadricycle, whichever is more stringent.
Quadricycles will be recommended for registration under commercial transport category for intra-city movement within the municipal limits only and these vehicles will be permitted to be driven only by licensed driver. Identification symbol ‘Q’ will be prominently displayed on the body.
Following a meeting last week, Tata Motors MD Karl Slym questioned the desirability of the quadricycle, taking a potshot at Bajaj Auto, which is ready with its own version of the four-wheeler. “WhyIJ The Government and industry have been accelerating efforts in traffic safety and environment. Now we consider quadricycle. Why go backwardsIJ” Slym wrote on Twitter.