Operational challenges and energy consumption of informal electric tricycles (“Easy Bikes”) in Bangladesh: A field-based socio-technical assessment

Battery-powered electric tricycles, locally called “Easy Bikes”, have expanded rapidly in Bangladesh as a low-cost mobility option, particularly in secondary cities and peri-urban corridors. Despite their socio-economic importance, the sector operates largely outside formal technical standards, raising concerns about energy waste, lead–acid battery degradation, clustered overnight charging, distribution-grid stress, and safety risks linked to overloading and limited maintenance. This study presents a field-based socio-technical assessment combining structured driver surveys (n=150) in Gopalganj and Khulna with instrumented measurements on a representative Easy Bike tested under controlled passenger-load conditions (4–7 passengers). The survey results document prolonged hub-based charging, frequent overloading, rental-based operation, and recurring maintenance constraints. Vehicle-level measurements show that higher passenger load increases traction current and terminal voltage sag, indicating greater electrical stress under overloaded operation. Because the technical measurements were obtained from one representative vehicle and charging energy was not directly metered at hubs, the results are interpreted as case-based evidence supported by scenario-based energy and clustered-load estimates rather than fleet-wide measurements. The study identifies practical mitigation pathways, including charger-efficiency and termination standards, basic protection electronics, charging-hub load management, lead–acid lifecycle controls, lithium-ion transition considerations, and targeted solar-assisted charging under affordability constraints.