Abstract 

In context of Nepal having enormous hydro electricity generation potential of 43,000 MW and
comparatively lower preference of the electrical vehicle, we carried out an in-depth Environmental,
Economical and Efficiency analysis (3E Analysis) for promoting the use of electrical vehicle specially E-
rickshaw to reduce the emission and strengthen national economy. In order to generalize data we selected
sub-metropolitan city Dharan having area of 192.32 Km and population of 151,539 consisting the mixed
2

geography of plain and hills which exhibits fairly similar characteristics to other Nepali cities. It is found
that Dharan contains 5,600 petroleum auto-rickshaws which consume 10,729,600 liters of petrol which
cost more than 12 million USD and contributed approximately 26 thousand tons of C0 . Whereas the use
2

of the E-rickshaw seems to be ignored by the people and government with about 1,200 uses which was
only one fifth of operational petroleum auto-rickshaw and governmental organization of transportation
not even have the record of E-rickshaw. We used experimental approach to collect the emission data and
implemented statistical approach to analyze the environmental aspect using interval estimation,
coefficient of variance and normal distribution. For energy analysis we formed the mathematical
modeling to determine the torque required for the highest elevation of Dharan and comparative analysis
of two rickshaws on the basis of torque, speed and power characteristics. Similarly, for economic analysis
we used formula based calculation to determine the payback period, net profit in different interval and
other calculations. 
In the environmental analysis we tested total 240 Petroleum auto-rickshaw which were registered within
the four-year interval of 2016 A.D to 2019A.D (60 auto-rickshaw from each year) considering Carbon-
monoxide (CO), Carbon-dioxide (CO ) and Hydrocarbon (HC) from gas analyzer and performed
2

statistical analysis on it. Most of the distribution of data are not symmetric and exhibit positive skewness,
some data of emission have higher coefficient of variance and less reliability. General trend of raising the
emission with time was found in all three emission measure and emission from the auto-rickshaw issued
in the year of 2016 and 2017 was not found to be in unacceptable range, but due to improper
implementation of law those vehicle are operating without repair and maintenance. It was found that
petroleum auto-rickshaws of Dharan approximately emit 26 thousand tons of C0 on the average distance
2

commute of 105 Km with a mileage of 20. 

It was found that E- rickshaw can perform well in the Dharan city with maximum torque requirement of
33.017164Nm at the maximum highest inclination of 10 degree, it is has comparatively similar Torque-
speed and power characteristics as that of petroleum auto rickshaw with acceptable Gradeability of 12.7
but require greater time to take pickup in comparison to petroleum auto-rickshaw. 
In Nepal, initial investment for E- rickshaw is about $7119 which is $2034 greater than petroleum
auto-rickshaw, but due to the cheap electricity cost in Nepal, payback period of E - rickshaw was
found to be 2.77 years which was very much similar to petroleum auto-rickshaw of 2.5 years.
Furthermore, after 5 years of operation E-rickshaw exceeds the overall net profit of petroleum auto
rickshaw by $543 and after 10 years of operation e-rickshaw exceeds the net profit by a significant
margin of $12443. It was found that the annual fuel requirement of petroleum auto-rickshaw is 12
million USD which is exported from neighboring countries. Moreover, using the E-rickshaw can save the
fuel cost along with gaining  130 thousand USD from the international agreement of carbon trading, so
altogether economic advantage of 12 million and 130 thousand USD can be obtained by only fully
implementing E-rickshaw in the small city of Dharan. Along with it E- Rickshaw has per kilometer fuel
cost of 2.88 Nepali rupees/km which is almost half of that of petroleum auto-rickshaw which helps to
reduce the fair cost and allow passengers to commute at a cheap price. 
In the Environmental and Economic analysis, E-rickshaw was found to be more advantageous than
petroleum auto-rickshaw; whereas, in the Efficiency analysis E-rickshaw lagged behind the petroleum
auto-rickshaw by little margin. It was found that implementing E-rickshaw enhances the environment,
improves the societal and national economy which helps to bring sustainability. We presented the
outcomes to the governmental organizations and people engaging in the transportation business.

Introduction 
Conventional energy resources are depleting very fast and to meet the global energy demand, the scarcity
of these resources is the most crucial factor in the present era. “Non-Renewable Energy Demand” is one
of the major threats in our country. In the context of Nepal, it is a landlocked country with abundant
potential for electricity production. The paper details about the conversion of conventional auto rickshaw
into electrical powered auto rickshaw running in Dharan. Very large number of conventional auto
rickshaw is running in the city which is major contributors to carbon emission. In order to achieve clean
environment and sustainable society by reducing greenhouse gas (measure of amount of CO2 equivalents
in the air) emission. The paper presents a process to convert petrol based automobile (236.2 cc petrol
engine vehicle) to a pure Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). The main component used in the conversion of
the vehicles is presented and their overall placement is also detailed in paper. .This utilization of electric
energy over conventional energy would be a sustainable step and can be prove a great alternative.
Nowadays the concept and technology employing this renewable energy becomes very popular for all
kinds of development activities. It is a proactive to shift our source of energy to renewable source.

Dharan is a sub-metropolitan city of Sunsari district of province NO.1, Nepal, which is situated on the
foothills of the Mahabharat ranges in the north with its southern tip touching the edge of terai region at an
altitude of 349m. Due to the reputed hospital of nation BPKHIS population flow rate and the traffic is
very high in Dharan. Dharan comprises a resident population of 119,915 people and a signification share
of the vehicles in province no.1. In 2074/75, 26783 vehicles were registered i.e. approximately 12% of the
vehicle fleet was registered in province no. 1. These fleet in both private and public vehicle, although the
share has shifted 21 significantly over time. In 2046/2047 there were registered around 6392 vehicles in
this area rising to more than 408355 by 2074/75 Magh with an annual growth rate of 17%.However the
number of private vehicles especially two wheelers has been raising much more quickly over whelming
the transport sector in Dharan is dominate by diesel and gasoline vehicles. 
However electrification of Nepal‟s transport sector makes good for both the medium and long -term
financial, environmental and strategic benefits. Air quality in Dharan has worsened day by day. This is
result of increase fossil fueled vehicles, coupled with ,the overall geographical structure of the Dharan sub
-metropolitan city, the microclimate and wind flow and the other source such as the gas from the exhaust
of the industrial estate , reconstruction of building and road. 
 Among the various vehicles petroleum auto rickshaw should be taken as the hot topic in the contest of
Dharan. The petroleum auto rickshaw was first registered in 2073 in Dharan .There were about 1200 auto
rickshaw registered in fiscal year 2073/74 which is now has reached to approximately 5600 with an
annual growth rate of about 40%, these auto rickshaw is one of the major source for both the air and noise
pollution in the city. Electric rickshaws are also running in the road of Dharan but due to lack of
marketing, lack of awareness/information in the route level about the economic and environmental
benefits of the e-rickshaw, other petroleum rickshaw, there is no effective implementation of e-rickshaw.
Only about 600 e-rickshaw are running in Dharan which is only 10% of total rickshaw running in the city.
Firstly, e-rickshaw has zero tailpipe emission and lower, it will have no environmental cost and this zero
tailpipe emission are an essential component for improving air quality in Dharan, secondly, as an
landlocked country without petroleum resources, Nepal must imports it‟s fossil fuel needs which increase
trade deficits .so the number of rickshaw should be increase and emphasizes rather than petroleum auto
rickshaw.
 Literature review 
The torque on the drive wheel drive the motor requires to obtain the desired drive characteristics. Total
tractive effort is the total force required to move the vehicles with the desired characteristics which is
based on Rolling force, Rolling force is the opposing force required by a vehicles to overcome rolling
motion between the wheels and the surface of motion of the vehicle which depends on the coefficient of
rolling friction and it varies depending upon the material of tires and the roughness of the surface motion.
Grade resistance is a force that tends to pull the vehicles back when it is climbing an inclined surface due
to gravitational force. Acceleration force helps the vehicles to reach a predefined speed from rest in a
specified period of time which bears a direct relationship motor torque, better the torque, lesser the time
required by the vehicles to reach a given speed. 

Torque (τ) = Friction factor (R )* total tractive effort (TTE)* radius of drive wheel (r ) (1)
f wheel –

Total tractive effort (TTE) = Rolling resistance (RR) + Grade resistance (GR) + Acceleration force (FA) –

(2)
Rolling resistance (RR) =Gross vehicles weight (GVW)* Coefficient of rolling resistance (C ) (3) rr –

Grade resistance (GR) = Gross vehicles weight (GVW)*sin (θ) – (4), where θ is Grade or inclination
angle 
Acceleration force (FA) = Mass of the vehicles (M) * Acceleration (a) – (5)
 Problem statement
  Our project is based on data collection and data measurement; we faced difficulties while emission
measurement of auto rickshaw due to not having personal gas analyzer.
 ∙ No compulsory provision of governmental registration of automobile operated in Dharan whereas
almost 40 unions are operating automobile, so we faced difficulties in collecting total number of
operational automobile. 
∙ Proposition of model on the theoretical analysis, may create problem in implementation, specification of
avionic section (motor, controller, battery) may be changed according to the change in inclination.
Organization of Thesis

From above data we can visualized that in the year of 2073 auto rickshaw was launched in beautiful city,
Dharan. In that fiscal year of 2073/2074, 1200 number of auto rickshaw was running across Dharan. In
the next fiscal year of 2074/2075, the number increases to 2750 which means additional 1550 number of
auto rickshaw was added in that fiscal year. Similarly on the next fiscal year of 2075/2076 the number of
auto rickshaw in Dharan increases to 4370, and in 2076/2077 it reaches to 5350 and now in this current
fiscal year 2077/2078 the total number is 5600. This report shows a slight decrease in new auto rickshaw
in Dharan at the last two fiscal year due to effect of COVID-19 and nearly about one year lockdown in a
country.
1. ENVIRONMENT 

According to the guideline of the Nepal Government Carbon Monoxide emission should not
exceed 0.3% of volume. In the emission observation of 2016 33 out of 60 vehicles generate
carbon dioxide more than 0.3%. Average carbon-dioxide emission of 0.42% was observed which
needs to be the matter of concern.

Interval Estimation = Type equation here.

    
Average data: 222.23, 207.85, 173.75

The emission from those vehicles mainly composed of CO, CO2, HC and Lamda. During the course of
our project we took 240 auto rickshaws as the sampled rickshaw and perform the emission testing by
using Gas analyzer device in Department of Road and transport Itahari, Sunsari. Those auto rickshaws
were registered in the department of road transport in the year of 2073, 2074, 2075 and 2076 respectively.
With the help and supervision of staffs of the Department of Road transport Itahari, we performed the
emission testing of those vehicles.
 Emission Testing Procedures
 Exhaust gas emission testing is a process where test equipment is used to measure the gases produced by
a car engine. A probe is placed in the tailpipe of the car and the exhaust gases are measured following a
strict procedure. The exhaust gas analyser is used for measuring 4 gases, oxygen (O2), carbon monoxide
(CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrocarbons (HC) as well as calculating lambda (λ) a measure of
air/fuel ratio. These measurements together provide a very accurate way of measuring the combustion
efficiency of an engine. The vehicle exhaust emission test legislation requires that the instrument used to
test the vehicles is type approved by a national recognized body. In addition the instrument must be
calibrated using a Certified Reference Standard produced in accordance with ISO17025. After receiving
permission to start the emission test from the officer of the Department of Road Transport Itahari, we
took those three selected auto rickshaw into the premises of office and suitable arrangement of the gas
analyzer and testing was commenced. During the emission testing process we collect the data of exhaust
gases which were illustrated in the figures below

Figure shows % of the CO emitting from overall exhaust gases. Above that shows the Auto rickshaw1
which was registered in 2073 B.S has a highest %Vol of CO which is 1.89 and similarly other two
rickshaws has an emission of 0.5 and 0.14% Vol. 

. Figure shows the Parts per million(Ppm) Vol of the Hydrocarbon emitting from those auto rickshaws.
Auto rickshaw 1 has a 339 ppm Vol of Hydrocarbon while other two has 215 and 146 ppm Vol
respectively.

Fig represents the % Vol of the CO2 emitted out of the auto rickshaw which shows that the 1 st auto
rickshaw emits 210% Vol , 2nd auto rickshaw emits 162% Vol and 3rd one emits 123 % volume of CO2.

These were the emission parameters and the exact values of the exhaust gases emitted from the exhaust
pipe of the auto rickshaw. These data were compared to the emission standard of Nepal which is present
under the motor vehicle act 2049 which states the running vehicles exhaust emission must be within the
specified range if they were not on the limits owner of vehicles were first warned to control the emission
either by time to time servicing or replacing parts. If the drive/ owner doesn‟t obey , he/she is punishable
under the government rule. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Auto Rickshaw 1 Auto Rickshaw 2 Auto
Ricksaw 3 Ppm Vol Hydrocarbon (HC) 0 50 100 150 200 250 Auto Rickshaw 1 Auto Rickshaw 2 Auto
Rickshaw 3 % Vol Carbondioxide(CO2) 36 In Nepal among various parameters of emitting gases like
CO, CO2, HC, Lamda(ℷ) etc. only two parameters are judged they are HC and CO.
 2. ECONOMICS
In Dharan, 4 manufacturing companies auto rickshaw are operating. They are: Bajaj, TVS, Piaggio and
Atul. The fuel tank capacities of those rickshaws are shown by fig (16)

2C H (l) + 25O (g) ------16CO (g) + 18H O (g) [complete combustion]Error! Filename not
8 18 2 2 2

[Link]! Filename not [Link]! Filename not [Link]! Filename not

[Link]! Filename not specified.

1 litter of  2C H equals 690 gram.

8 18

228g of Petrol produces 704 gram of CO 2

690g of Petrol produces 2130.53 gram of CO 2

2C H (l) + 17O
8 18 2-------- (g) 16CO (g) + 18H O (g) [incomplete combustion]
2

Fuel cost analysis of Gasoline Powered Auto Rickshaw

In context of Dharan Bajaj Re has largest market over other 3 types of auto rickshaws. So, during our fuel
cost analysis process we use Bajaj Re auto rickshaw‟s specification and perform fuel cost analysis
process. The estimated efficiencies of Bajaj Re is in the range of (18-25) %. So we consider the efficiency
to be about 20%.Bajaj Re has a fuel tank of 8ltr. This study considers that 1 L of gasoline provides 9.63
kWh and the cost of fuel per ltr in date 2077/10/26 is Rs 110 (Nepal government.
C (cost to fill up the gasoline tank (RS)) = V (volume of the tank (L))* P (price of gasoline (Rs/L))
full t  L

= 8* 110 = Rs880 
C (cost per km (Rs/km)) = C (cost to fill up the gasoline tank (RS))/ D
km full range (distance range)
** assuming the average distance range (D ) with a full tank of gasoline in urban areas is 160 km.
range

= 880/ 160
=  5.5 Rs/km
Fuel cost analysis of Electric powered Rickshaw
The battery of a fully charged electric vehicle contains about 18 kWh, meaning that the grid must supply
36 kWh of energy.
The price of electricity from the grid, administrated by the Nepal Electricity Authority, is assumed to be
8Rsper kWh.

C (cost to fill up the EV battery from the grid (Rs))= P (national grid electricity price (Rs/kWh)) *
EV,g  e,g

0E (electrical energy required from the grid to fill up the EV battery (kWh))
EV,g

= 36 * 8
= Rs288
C (cost per km (Rs/km)) = C (cost to fill up the EV battery from the grid (Rs))))/ D
km EV,g  range (distance range)
288/100(assumed distance range)
= 2.88 Rs/km
Maintenance cost analysis
A. Auto rickshaw
Auto rickshaw has to perform the time to time servicing in every 3000-3500 km. A general servicing of
an auto rickshaw are related to the engine 
: ∙ Engine oil change and/or filter replacement. 
∙ Checking lights, tires, exhaust and operations of brakes and steering
. ∙ Ensuring your engine is 'tuned' to run in its peak condition
. ∙ Checking hydraulic fluid and coolant levels.
 ∙ Checking the cooling system
 ∙ Suspension checks General cost of servicing of an auto rickshaw is about 5,000 and it approximately
done in a period of a month.
Maintenance cost in 3 years = 5,000 * 12*3= Rs1, 80,000
Tax in 3 years = 3,500 *3 = Rs10, 500
Total cost in 3 years = Rs190,500
 
B. E-Rickshaw
Electric rickshaw relatively has a quite lower cost of servicing due to the replacement of engine
component by electric motor. Although it’s not mandatory to perform servicing at certain intervals but a
time to time periodic maintenance should be carried out to increase the performance of the rickshaw. So,
a monthly cost of about 2,000Rs is used up in the preventive maintenance 
process. The major cost associated with an electric auto rickshaw is changing a battery. A general life of
battery of an electric rickshaw is 3-4 years. Price of a brand new battery is about Rs 80,000.
Maintenance cost in 3 years = 2,000 * 12*3= Rs72, 000
Tax in 3 years = 1,500 *3 = Rs4, 500
Battery cost (3 years) = Rs80, 000
Total cost in 3 years = Rs156, 000

3. ENERGY

Factors Affecting Torque thus required

 When selecting drive motor for the electric vehicle rolling resistance, Grade resistance and
Acceleration force must be taken into account to determine the maximum torque required. 

GVW=240KG after retrofitting, Crr= 0.017 used for asphalt value obtained from pdf , Where θ varies
from (5-10) ˚ in Dharan road. So we choose max grade angle to calculate the max possible torque
required.

Rolling resistance (RR) =Gross vehicles weight (GVW)* Co-efficient of rolling resistance (C ) rr

Where,
RR=240*9.81*0.017=40.0248N
Grade resistance (GR) = Gross vehicles weight (GVW)*sin (θ)
            =240*9.81*sin10˚=408.8372N

Acceleration force (FA) = Mass of the vehicles (M) * Acceleration (a)

From various sources, we obtain the result that electric vehicles can obtain the speed of 20km/hr in a
period of 2.3sec
a=v/t=(20*1000/(3600*2.3))=2.4154m/sec   2

FA=240*2.4154=579.710N

Total tractive effort (TTE) = Rolling resistance (RR) + Grade resistance (GR) + Acceleration force (FA) –

(2)
=40.0248+408.8372+579.710=1028.5721N. 

Torque (τ) = Friction factor (R )* total tractive effort (TTE)* radius of drive wheel (r ) (1)
f wheel –

    = 0.15*1028.5721*0.214=33.017164Nm
This torque can be obtained by directly mounting a motor with the torque value on the differential of the
vehicles or by using a gearbox or chain drive to magnify a lesser torque to this value before it drives the
wheel.
 Gasoline Powered Auto Rickshaw
E (energy provided from one litre of gasoline (kWh/L) = 9.63 kWh/L
L

Vt (volume of the tank (L) = 8 L 

ŋ (internal combustion engine efficiency) = 18- 25% (assumption=  21.5 % average value=0.215)
ICE

Eu,ICE (useful energy provided by a full tank) = Vt (volume of the tank (L))*   E (energy provided from
L

one litre of gasoline (kWh/L))* ŋ (internal combustion engine efficiency)

ICE

= 8 * 9.63* 0.215
= 16.5636 kWh
Bajaj Re. Rickshaw (Petroleum powered)Error! Filename not specified.
Engine displacement = 236.2cc
Net power = 7.42 KW at 5000 rpm
Max net torque =17.65Nm of 3500pm
 Gradeability at about at about 90% (its maximum) 
but working range about 16% @ 10kph with 334 kg payload
        Acceleration
 10 to 10 Km/h at 4.4 sec
 0 to 30 Km/h at 6.6 sec 
0 to 40 Km/h at 10 sec 
0 to 55 Km/h at 19.6 sec
Mileage at the range of 20 

Electric powered Rickshaw

E (total energy contained in the battery)= 18 kWh, [17]
b

ƞ (EV battery efficiency) = about 90% due to energy loss between battery and the transmission axle 
b

Eu,EV (EV battery useful energy (kWh))= ƞ (EV battery efficiency) * E (total energy contained in the
b b

battery)
= 0.9 * 18
= 16.2 kWh
Mahindra electric Auto rickshaw 
[introduce in the Nepal with best specification) 
Motor power of 8kW
Highest top speed range is 55kph
Gradeability is 12.7
 Max. Torque 42 Nm
 Acceleration 0-20 km/h in 23 sec
 Driving range of Mahindra is that it can travel up to 131km
 on a single charge and has a certified range of 341 km. 
Dimensions 2769 x 1350 x 1750
 Typical driving range – 130
 Charging time 0-100% about 3h 50 min.
 Transmission type - Direct drive