PUNE: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) has notified the insertion of the item ‘quadricycle’ as a ‘non-transport’ vehicle under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. A quadricycle is a vehicle of the size of a 3-wheeler but with four tyres and which is fully covered like a car. It has an engine like that of a 3-wheeler. This makes it a cheap and safe mode of transport for last mile connectivity.
Quadricycles were only allowed for transport usage under the Act, but now have been made usable for non-transport also.
“A quadricycle is a vehicle of the size of a three-wheeler but with four-tyres and is fully covered like a car. It has an engine like that of a three-wheeler. This makes it a cheap and safe mode of transport for last-mile connectivity,” a government notification said on Friday.
Though the government permitted the use of quadricycles for commercial purpose in June, the latest notification opens the door for their use for personal purpose.
Earlier this year, the government had approved the quadricycle as a vehicle category. Technically, the quadricycle will be categorised as A-Segment (entry) vehicles, which measure less than 3.6 metres in length, cannot weigh more than 475 kg and has an engine size of less than 800 cc.
However, similar to all the vehicles sold in India, even the quadricycle vehicles will have to undergo rigorous crash tests and will have to meet the BNVSAP safety norms as well as the BSVI emission norms. The government has also approved full electric or hybrid models of quadricycle vehicles but even those models cannot skip the stringent crash test norms. Moreover, similar to the below 100 cc gearless scooters, the government has allowed teenagers of 16 years and above to drive the quadricycle vehicles.
WHAT IS QUADRICYCLE?
- A quadricycle is a vehicle of the size of a 3-wheeler but with four tyres and which is fully covered like a car.
- It has an engine like that of a 3-wheeler.
- Technically, the quadricycle will be categorised as A-Segment (entry) vehicles, which measure less than 3.6 metres in length, cannot weigh more than 475 kg and has an engine size of less than 800 cc
