‘Slept in my car for a charging spot’: Noida cabbies frustrated with Vietnam venture

At 12.45 pm on a Monday, the working day came to a halt for around 20 Green SM Limo drivers in Noida. Their turquoise electric cars were lined up at the company’s charging facility in the basement parking area of Urbtech Trade Centre in Sector 132 when the power went out.

A murmur of grumbling spread through the group. A company supervisor stationed at the site announced: “There is no light, remove the chargers now, put it back on once the power is back.” A driver in his 20s, who joined the fleet two weeks ago, told a fellow driver, “Now we will have to restart the process all over again.” Around two-and-a-half months after Vietnam-based mobility company Green SM launched its electric taxi service — Green SM Limo — in Delhi-NCR, drivers said they are spending hours waiting for chargers or going offline to conserve battery.

The result: fewer hours available to take passengers and complete the targets linked to their weekly pay. “We take the cars out in the morning from the hub in Ek Murti, around 17 km from here. Charging takes around 2.5 hours in case there is a long queue.

Even after this, there is no guarantee that we’ll get our ride immediately. We get out, drive around the area and then a ride might come,” said the driver. Another driver, who joined the fleet 15 days ago, faces the same problem.

He said he leaves his home in Loni, Ghaziabad, at 8 am but often gets his first ride only around 1 pm. “Every day since my first day, I have waited for around an hour at the station. Then the charging takes two hours,” he said.

By then, a substantial part of the day has already gone. That matters because drivers have to complete either 35 trips or 580 km over six days to earn the weekly Rs 7,500 payout. “I’m left with only five to six hours in a day to complete the weekly target,” said the first driver, inserting the charger as the power comes back.

The charging problem is particularly frustrating because the company’s highest per-kilometre rate is paid during the hours when drivers most want to be on the road. Green SM pays Rs 16 per km during its peak periods of 7-10 am and 5-8 pm, said another driver.

So drivers have begun trying to secure chargers before the rush — sometimes at considerable personal cost. “I once parked my vehicle near the charging station overnight and slept inside so I could get a spot early in the morning,” said the driver.

The station closes at 11 pm, he said, and private vehicles also use the chargers.