Look at what I saw in Pune a couple of days back. Jostling for space among the ‘big’ cars and ‘huge’ auto-rickshaws, this tiny cute thingy was attracting stares from everybody around. Going by the adjectives that I gave for cars and auto-rickshaws, you would have guessed the size of this. Yes, it was just about half the size of an auto-rickshaw. Luckily, the attached snap also has a Bajaj RE auto-rickshaw, from which this seems to be conceived.
I was shocked and surprised to see this toy-like vehicle moving around comfortably in the hustle and bustle of Pune city traffic. If I had noticed right in the few seconds that I got to see it, it looked like it can accommodate two people. Unlike in two-wheelers, the good thing is that the occupants can remain protected from the elements. But, it was so unusually small that, for a moment, I thought it would go right underneath our buses and trucks.
Jokes apart, this seems to be a nice idea for commuting in thickly congested areas. Imagine how much fuel and space could be saved if this is widely used instead of cars for short commutes inside the city? Don’t ask me about its safety though. Then again, compared to our two-wheelers, this should be more than a match. To whoever conceived this for whatever reason, I just have a message to say - though a little weird, the idea is nice, very nice!
EDIT: Apparently, it seems that the above nice idea is a concept by Bajaj in the 1980's and it was christened 'PTV - Personal Transport Vehicle'. It's quite a feat by Bajaj in that time period to have found out a mobility solution for a small family in our thickly congested cities. For whatsoever reasons, this didn't make it to production which is a pity as this could have easily done what the Tata Nano intended to but couldn't, that is, made a whole lot of families upgrade to a safer and more comfortable mode of transport. Thanks to the popular Team-BHP website for bringing this fact into light. Great going Bajaj, now we know where your R&D abilities came from!
I was shocked and surprised to see this toy-like vehicle moving around comfortably in the hustle and bustle of Pune city traffic. If I had noticed right in the few seconds that I got to see it, it looked like it can accommodate two people. Unlike in two-wheelers, the good thing is that the occupants can remain protected from the elements. But, it was so unusually small that, for a moment, I thought it would go right underneath our buses and trucks.
Jokes apart, this seems to be a nice idea for commuting in thickly congested areas. Imagine how much fuel and space could be saved if this is widely used instead of cars for short commutes inside the city? Don’t ask me about its safety though. Then again, compared to our two-wheelers, this should be more than a match. To whoever conceived this for whatever reason, I just have a message to say - though a little weird, the idea is nice, very nice!
EDIT: Apparently, it seems that the above nice idea is a concept by Bajaj in the 1980's and it was christened 'PTV - Personal Transport Vehicle'. It's quite a feat by Bajaj in that time period to have found out a mobility solution for a small family in our thickly congested cities. For whatsoever reasons, this didn't make it to production which is a pity as this could have easily done what the Tata Nano intended to but couldn't, that is, made a whole lot of families upgrade to a safer and more comfortable mode of transport. Thanks to the popular Team-BHP website for bringing this fact into light. Great going Bajaj, now we know where your R&D abilities came from!
Choooo Chweeettt....!
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