At Kinisi, we are very grateful to see our e-cycles everywhere we go, and we feel encouraged to help guests and residents free themselves from petrol dependency. We are constantly trying to increase our fleet of rental e-vehicles so that more guests will choose sustainable mobility instead of polluting mopeds during their stay.
Our main goal is to increase the number of e-cycles in the KIM (Kinisi In-kind Mobility) scheme. This program was created to help Aurovilians move away from motorcycles as their transport choice. For a small monthly contribution, KIM members receive an e-cycle for their personal use. The e-cycle remains an asset of Auroville, and they cannot sell, rent or lend it to other people. We service each e-cycle every month, and after 3 years or more we change the battery for free. This scheme has all the advantages of private ownership without its hassles. We will reach 100 KIM e-cycles before Auroville’s birthday, and we are planning to have 140 to 150 by the end of April 2020. We have 75 people on our waiting list.
We noticed that KIM members are very happy with their e-cycle, but they still keep their motorcycle for longer trips outside of Auroville, or for carrying larger loads. This is not our goal. How can we convince Aurovilians to move entirely away from private fossil fuel transport?
We came up with the idea to have a fleet of electric scooters on a shared basis. Ideally, KIM members (or any Kinisi customers) could borrow an electric scooter on an hourly, half-day, or full-day basis when they need a vehicle with more range or more carrying capacity. This would encourage guests and Aurovilians to choose e-cycling because they would know that they can get an e-scooter when they need one. They could just drop their e-cycle at Kinisi and pick up an e-scooter for the time of their trip.
Do you think that this idea would encourage people to go entirely petrol-free?
We would appreciate your feedback at service@beta.kinisi.in.