Published on : Wednesday, January 9, 2019
But, Kholkar witnessed the menacing pollution in big cities and saw Goa slowly move in the same direction. He was determined to bring about a change so he reached out to his close friend, now his business partner, Sandeep Mukherjee, to launch Arcis Clean Energy Pvt Limited last year.
With Sandeep’s experience in electric vehicles abroad and Samarth’s knowledge of tourism in Goa, the duo created B:Live, India’s first EV Tourism initiative – a clean, green and immersive way of discovering Goa on electric vehicles.
B: Live offers curated tour experience powered by smart electric bikes and driven by the locals. “The idea was to discover hidden gems tucked away in quaint alleys, meeting the locals and reconnecting with the soul of a place. One may return not just with experiences of a trip but also collect memories of a lifetime,” said Mukherjee, COO of Arcis Clean Energy Pvt Limited.
B:Live offers a fleet of e-cycles motor accelerated and manufactured by Gujarat-based LightSpeed Mobility with 25 kmph speed. The bikes are available in three variants — easy bike, adventure bike, and city bike. A GPS-tracked location to a control centre, helps dispatch a rescue vehicle in case of an emergency. The e-hubs for the bikes serve as parking-cum-charging stations (also have solar charging) created from the recycled shipping containers.
B:Live is operated by ‘Make it Happen’, an experiential tour operator that conducts the four experiences on offer.
An ‘Escape to Divar Island’ tour is one of the most exhilarating experiences that takes one from the ferry to the island over a scrumptious breakfast with a Goan family at their home. The tours range from Rs 1,799–2,799 per person and are 4 hrs long, except the Divar tour (starts at 8am and 3pm), all tours start at 8am, 11am and 3pm.