Over the past two days, the roads of Faridabad and Ballabgarh in Haryana have witnessed an unusual sight: e-rickshaws grinding to a halt without warning, right in the middle of a trip. Some drivers had to ask their passengers to get off midway, while others ended up pushing their stalled e-rickshaws for as much as 7 to 8 kilometres just to get them home. The very vehicles that put food on the table for these families suddenly stopped working in the middle of the road. Two days of lost earnings cost one driver around Rs 3,000, while another began worrying about how he would pay his monthly loan instalment. Videos of the breakdowns went viral on social media and turned into entertainment for many viewers, but for these e-rickshaw drivers, the two days felt like a nightmare.
Why the e-rickshaws kept switching off
Several e-rickshaw drivers in Ballabgarh and Faridabad said their vehicles were being switched off through a mobile application. According to them, the dealership never disclosed at the time of purchase that the battery could be controlled remotely through Bluetooth or a mobile app. It was only after the agency set up password protection on the batteries that many drivers finally got relief.
Dharmendra: the rickshaw died three times in a single day
Dharmendra, who has been driving an e-rickshaw in Ballabgarh for the past three weeks, said he bought a new e-rickshaw on June 12 for around Rs 1,75,000. On one single day, his vehicle stopped abruptly in the middle of the road two to three times. On several occasions passengers were seated inside when the rickshaw suddenly died, leaving him embarrassed. His entire household runs on the income from this e-rickshaw. He said no one told him at the time of purchase that the vehicle came with a password system linked to a mobile phone. After the agency installed a password, the rickshaw has been running normally.
Manish Kumar: four or five trips to the agency, then the Chinese app theory
Manish Kumar has been driving an e-rickshaw in Ballabgarh for about eight months and had bought his vehicle for Rs 2 lakh. He said that whenever the vehicle connected to a certain mobile application, it would suddenly shut down. On several occasions it stalled with passengers on board in the middle of traffic, raising the risk of an accident. Manish had to visit the agency four to five times before the issue was resolved with a password set on the battery. He alleged that the agency never mentioned this feature when he bought the vehicle and did not disclose that it could be switched off through a mobile application. He was also charged Rs 450 to get a faulty horn and light fixed. Manish said he later learnt through news reports that some Chinese application was behind the vehicles shutting down.
Why Ashish's rickshaw never stopped
Ashish, who has been driving an e-rickshaw in Faridabad and Ballabgarh for seven to eight months, did not face this problem because his vehicle runs on a water based battery that does not connect via Bluetooth. Many of his fellow drivers were affected, but his e-rickshaw kept running without interruption. According to him, it was the e-rickshaws fitted with Bluetooth based lithium batteries that faced the worst trouble.
Deepak: stranded near Gupta Hotel, a loss of around Rs 3,000 in two days
Deepak's e-rickshaw kept breaking down in the middle of the road for two straight days. On one occasion it stalled near Gupta Hotel in Ballabgarh, forcing him to push it forward by hand. When he called the company, an employee arrived on the spot and restarted the vehicle through a mobile phone, and a password was set on the battery afterwards. Deepak said he had bought the e-rickshaw around four months earlier for Rs 1,80,000. Being unable to run the vehicle for two days cost him close to Rs 3,000. He usually earns between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,600 a day, so the two days of downtime hit him hard.
Bharat: a sensor and password kept his rickshaw running, but some people were doing it for fun
Bharat has been driving an e-rickshaw between Ballabgarh Metro Station and Ghanta Ghar for eight months, and his vehicle never stopped during this episode because he had already installed a security sensor and password as a precaution. Drivers who had not installed such security features suffered far more. Bharat said some people were switching off poor drivers' e-rickshaws through the mobile application purely as a prank or mischief, even though it created a real risk of accidents in the middle of the road.
Vedpal's ordeal: pushing a dead rickshaw 7 to 8 kilometres from Sector 2
The most painful account came from Vedpal. Originally from Palwal, he lives on rent in Ballabgarh and supports his family through an e-rickshaw he bought on loan. He said his vehicle started breaking down mid-ride from June 30 onward. One day, while returning home from Sector 2, he had to drop off his passenger midway and push the stalled e-rickshaw for nearly 7 to 8 kilometres to get it home. Vedpal took the vehicle on loan and pays an instalment of Rs 5,500 every month. His family of three children depends entirely on this income. He has faced constant technical problems since buying the e-rickshaw, and despite repeated complaints to the agency, he has still not got a permanent fix.
Same glitch, different levels of hardship
Together, these accounts show how a single technical flaw involving remotely controllable batteries turned into both a financial and a safety crisis for families who depend on their e-rickshaws for a living. Drivers who had already installed a sensor or password kept running without trouble, while those without such safeguards were left counting losses and enduring public embarrassment.
