Uncontrolled and unplanned battery-powered rickshaws across the country are increasing traffic congestion, disorder and the risk of accidents on roads and highways, creating additional pressure on power management during this period of energy crisis. Sector insiders have noted that electricity demand fails to drop at the expected rate during those hours due to charging these vehicles after midnight, consequently exerting pressure on both road management and electricity supply. Initiatives are now underway to control these vehicles through registration, licensing and route allocation, alongside regulating their production.
No government agency currently holds precise figures regarding the number of battery rickshaws and their electricity consumption. Overall, these rickshaws have turned into a major headache for the country’s road and energy management.
The two city corporations in Dhaka have over 220,000 registered pedal rickshaws, and approximately one million more operate outside city corporation registration, according to industry insiders. While provisions exist for registering these traditional rickshaws, but do not have any system for registering three-wheeled battery-operated vehicles. No government agency consequently possesses precise statistics of motorised rickshaws operating within the Dhaka metropolitan area, though industry estimates put the figure at several hundred thousand.
According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the estimated number of battery-operated rickshaws and easy-bikes across the country is between 4.5 and 5 million, while data from the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) indicates that approximately 6 million e-three-wheelers are operating nationwide, with about 2 million concentrated in the capital alone.
Experts point out that there are three types of battery-powered three-wheelers operating across the country. The first comprises traditional pedal-powered rickshaws retrofitted with batteries to run as auto-rickshaws. The second consists of newly manufactured hooded auto-rickshaws modelled after standard rickshaws. The third category includes battery-driven easy-bikes. Auto-rickshaws are more prevalent in the capital, while easy-bikes are more common outside Dhaka. Battery-powered vans are also used in suburban and rural areas.
The chaotic movement of battery-powered rickshaws, including picking up and dropping off passengers anywhere, taking arbitrary U-turns and pulling onto main thoroughfares, has further complicated the traffic situation. The absence of an integrated route plan coordinating buses, rickshaws, easy-bikes and private vehicles is mounting pressure on urban transport systems. Weak regulatory controls over driver training and licensing, vehicle quality and fitness standards have escalated road safety risks.
Alongside the sheer volume of these vehicles, there is no precise accounting of the amount of electricity consumed in charging them. But BPDB’s observations indicate that after midnight, when peak hours end, power demand is supposed to drop by 1,000 to 1,500 megawatts, but this reduction fails to materialise. The agency estimates that a major portion of this sustained power demand goes toward charging the batteries of these rickshaws and easy-bikes.
When asked about the matter, BPDB Chairman Engineer Rezaul Karim told Bonik Barta, “It’s indeed difficult to keep track of the exact amount of electricity being consumed by battery-powered rickshaws and easy-bikes. But power consumption is supposed to drop once peak hours end after midnight. Although electricity demand should decrease by 1,000 to 1,500 megawatts, it’s not dropping at all. It’s estimated that most of this power is being used to charge batteries. BPDB is working on this, and an estimate will be available within a few days.”
The issue of electricity consumption by battery-powered rickshaws was also highlighted at a CPD dialogue. Speaking yesterday at a seminar titled “Navigating Bangladesh Energy Crisis: Immediate Priorities and the Path to a Sustainable Energy Future,” Minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hassan Mahmood said, “Most of these vehicles are charged after midnight via illegal connections. As a result, the peak hour for electricity consumption has shifted to midnight, and total demand has surged to nearly 18,000 megawatts.”
He also mentioned that government employees have faced attacks in various areas while attempting to disconnect these illegal lines.
According to CPD data, the electricity consumption of e-three-wheelers nationwide accounts for about 5 percent of the country’s total power generation — roughly 750 megawatts daily. In Dhaka, as opposed to 3,300 authorised charging stations, approximately 48,136 illegal charging points have mushroomed. The organisation stated that these unauthorised charging points not only exert informal pressure on the power grid but also deprive the government of about BDT 4 billion in revenue annually. The use of substandard batteries and the improper management of spent batteries also pose additional environmental risks.
But advising against getting bogged down in statistical debates over whether the vehicles number 600,000 or 6 million, transport expert and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Civil Engineering Professor Dr Md Shamsul Hoque suggested focusing on solving the core problem. He told Bonik Barta, “Conducting daily crackdowns or dumping a few rickshaws to control these uncontrolled vehicles that have spread ‘like locusts’ is no permanent solution. While this exerts pressure on the drivers, the illegal importers, spare parts traders, unauthorised body builders, electricity-theft syndicates and the influential figures behind them remain completely untouched.”
He further stated, “To strike at the root of the problem, strict action must first be taken against these traders to halt imports and manufacturing at the source, as well as requiring a specific legal framework to regulate the number and movement of these rickshaws. This crisis can’t be resolved by talking about multi-billion-taka smart projects or technology; it demands firm political will and effective enforcement.”
Industry insiders believe that instead of completely banning such vehicles, there are opportunities to bring them under management through regulation, rationalisation and proper electrification. They point out that road safety risks can be mitigated by designating specific routes and lanes, making driver licensing and training mandatory, and ensuring vehicle registration and fitness testing. By removing slow-moving easy-bikes from major thoroughfares in large cities, reallocating them to feeder routes, and integrating these vehicles with modern public transport such as buses, they can be effectively utilised for last-mile connectivity.
The Local Government Division has meanwhile initiated steps to formulate a legal and administrative framework to control the number and movement of e-rickshaws. Under the new management system, plans are also underway to modify the design, operational areas and technological controls of e-rickshaws. Through BUET, it has been decided to prepare e-rickshaw designs with a passenger capacity of 2+4 persons (excluding the driver) for city corporation areas and 2+4+6 persons for municipal, upazila and union council areas. There are also plans to operate Dhaka’s e-rickshaws progressively across the DMP’s eight zones using distinct colour codes and registration numbers. Decisions have also been made to ban these vehicles from major thoroughfares, control the production of unlicensed e-rickshaws, and equip every e-rickshaw with GPS.
To prevent e-rickshaws from one zone operating in another, the implementation of a geo-fencing system has also been proposed. These matters were discussed yesterday at a meeting held at the Secretariat regarding the formulation of a policy for managing low-speed, three-wheeled battery-operated rickshaws across city corporation, municipal, upazila and union council areas of the country.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, State Minister for LGRD and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam said, “A policy is being formulated for e-rickshaw management in light of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009, and the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Act, 2026.”
The state minister stated that once the policy is implemented, it will create opportunities for systematic licensing and registration through local government bodies, alongside controlling urban traffic congestion, restoring discipline in vehicular movement, and ensuring road safety. To this end, initiatives will be taken to amend existing rules to establish a unified licensing authority for city corporations, municipalities, upazilas and union councils.
Meanwhile, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Md Abdus Salam announced plans to gradually transition Dhaka’s battery-powered rickshaws to a solar-powered system. Speaking to journalists yesterday after the experimental inauguration of a modern automated traffic signal system at Shahbagh intersection, he said, “New plans have been adopted to regulate battery-powered and motorised rickshaws in Dhaka city, designating specific manufacturing plants to halt the unauthorised and haphazard production of battery rickshaws.”