Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Sunday, 7 May 2017

A “ Reverse Toll “ ? Possible !



AfternoonVoice ( 07 May 2017 ) carries following news report :



“ Nagpur-Mumbai E-Way: Motorists likely to pay  Rs 2.5 per km  toll “

State road development authority MSRDC plans to collect toll of Rs 2.5 per km from passengers vehicles on the much-awaited  Rs 46,000 crore  Nagpur-Mumbai Prosperity Corridor, which is expected to be completed by October 2019.

“The civil work on the eight-laned Expressway will commence on October 1st this year and will be completed by October 2019,” , MSRDC Managing Director Radheshyam Mopalwar told reporters.

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) which is implementing the 706-km corridor project, will be charging a toll fee of around Rs 2.5 per km for cars while for heavy vehicles, it will charge around Rs 6.5 per km.

“As per our calculations, we feel the toll would be around  Rs 2.5 per km  for passenger vehicles and up to Rs 6.5 per km for commercial and heavy vehicles,” Mopalwar said.

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A non-starter  ?  Seems so


A guaranteed NPA ( for the lending banks ) ?  Very likely



HERE IS WHY :


·         Petrol cost / km             =   Rs   7.0 ( Rs 70 per litre giving 10 km / litre )


·         Toll / km                       =   Rs   2.5  ( proposed )


·         Maintenance Cost / km   =   Rs   0.5 ( oil + spares etc )


·         Total Cost / km              =   Rs   10




So , one way trip will cost = Rs  7,060  !



And a travel time of 10 hours  !


At this rate , how many cars can be expected to undertake that journey ?
May be , 100 cars per day – making this project non-viable !





IS  THERE  A  VIABLE  SOLUTION  ?



Fortunately , there is


Instead of charging the car owners Rs 2.5 / km by way of toll, if the government were to  pay them , Rs 2.5 / km ( a kind of “ Reverse Toll “ ) , then , instead of 100 cars per day , there could well be 10,000 cars per day !



If those 10,000 cars were ISRO-designed Electric Cars , whose Roof Top Solar Panels were to charge a 5 kwh Li-ion battery , reducing the Total Cost per km = Rs 4.0  !



Now subtract that “ Reverse Toll “ ( of Rs 2.5 / km ) , and the total cost to the car owner comes down to just Rs 1.5 per km ( Rs 4 less Rs 2.5 )



That will guarantee a daily traffic of 10,000 cars ( - “ Reverse Toll “ to be paid , ONLY to ISRO-designed Electric cars – and only as DBT in his Jan Dhan Account  )



At the toll naka , and along the entire length of the Expressway , electric lighting poles will carry CCTV cameras and RFID chip detection devices . Each Electric Car will be embedded with RFID chip



For costing details , read :







BUT , HOW WILL THE GOVERNMENT FIND THE MONEY TO PAY TO THE CAR OWNERS , RS 2.5 AS “ REVERSE TOLL “ ?



Good question – considering that the government is struggling to raise money


Once again , a technological solution is right around the corner !


In the form of piezo-electric panels embedded on the highway surface , which generate electricity due to tyre pressure



HALF A MILE OF HIGHWAY WILL GENERATE ENOUGH ELECTRICITY TO POWER 5.000 HOMES



( Remember , Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway will be 706 Km long and we are talking of 10,000 cars plying per day  !  )



As little as 400 cars per hour would be needed to make the system economically viable


This project is under way right now by California Energy Commission , in collaboration with University of California



For details , refer :





·         https://www.rethinkx.com/




The government will sell this “ Car Generated Power “ to cities along the Expressway and from that revenue , pay the “ Reverse Toll “


Just imagine the  HUGE MOTIVATION  , this arrangement will the petrol-car owners to quickly switch over to the Electric Cars !



Considering that the construction of Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway is yet to begin ( from Oct 2017 ) , there is enough time for Shri Nitin Gadkariji , to tie-up with the providers of this technology ,who would not want to miss this unprecedented opportunity to show-case their technology !


And the laying of piezo-electric arrays ( stacked like quarters in the road surface ), is NOT confined to NEW ROAD CONSTRUCTION only !



It can be carried out on any EXISTING ROAD , as well  !



CONTEXT  :

This blog must be read in the context of the following news report appearing in Hindustan Times ( 08 May 2017 ) :



“ It’s Electric Vehicles over Hybrids for NITI Aayog “



“ Niti Aayog has recommended lowering taxes and interest rates for loans on electric vehicles, while capping sales of conventional cars , signalling a shift in policy in one of the world’s fastest growing auto markets



A draft of the 90 page blue-print , seen by Reuters, also suggests the Centre opens a battery plant by 2018 end and use tax revenues from the sale of petrol, diesel vehicles to set up charging stations for electric vehicles



The recommendations are aimed at electrifying all vehicles in the country by 2032, said government and industry sources  “


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Dear Shri Gadkariji :


You are given to bold , out-of-box thinking and not given to “ Analysis-produced Paralysis “


Please , cease this opportunity  !


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08  May  2017




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