Electric revolution: BD to legalize electric cars

Hossen Sohel of DOT
The new government in Bangladesh is going to legalise electric vehicles, reports bdnews24.com.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority or BRTA has drafted guidelines on the electric vehicles stipulating registration, fitness certificate and tax token mandatory for these.
The electric vehicles have been running on the roads despite having no permission in a country that faces power shortage.
Among these, the small passenger carrier known as ‘Easy Bike’ is often blamed for causing accidents on the highways.
Opportunities for ‘Easy Bike’ to get legalised will be created through the new BRTA initiative.
The vehicles will be tested at BUET before the registration, BRTA officials said.
The BRTA sent the draft of ‘Electric Vehicle Registration and Operation Guidelines 2018’ to the Road Transport and Highway Division on Nov 26 last year.
The draft focuses on the same issues, which are already covered by legislations and regulations for motorised vehicles, the road transport and highway secretary said in a meeting on Jan 6.
Also, new guidelines are not needed as the electric vehicles can be controlled under the current Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983, he observed.
It was decided in the meeting to send a delegation to India to observe the registration process and operation of electric vehicles before the BRTA would send a complete proposal to the ministry.
BRTA has been preparing the proposal, according to its director Sheikh Mohammed Mahbub-E-Rabbani.
The ministry said it would issue office orders, not guidelines, on the electric vehicles following the proposal, said Rabbani.
The electric vehicles will be registered too, if these fall under the office orders, but these must pass the safety test in BUET first, the BRTA director said when asked if ‘Easy Bike’ will be registered.