Illegal Autorickshaw Charging Causes Tk 4,000 Crore Annual Revenue Loss in Bangladesh

🛵 Dhaka, Bangladesh — Illegal charging of battery-run autorickshaws is causing an estimated Tk 4,000 crore annual revenue loss to the government, with the electricity needed to charge these vehicles accounting for around 5% of Bangladesh’s total electricity generation, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Salahuddin Ahmed told Parliament on 7 September 2026.

📊 Although an estimated 50-80 lakh battery-run autorickshaws operate nationwide, there are only around 3,300 legal charging points, he said. The minister disclosed the figures in response to an urgent public-importance notice under Rule 71 of the Rules of Procedure in parliament, submitted by reserved women’s seat MP Rehana Akhter Ranu on the “uncontrolled operation of autorickshaws”.

📊 Scale of the Problem

📊 Battery-run autorickshaws, e-rickshaws and other electric three-wheelers have become an important part of urban and rural transport over the past decade. But their rapid and largely unregulated growth has increased pressure on:

• ⚡ Power system — charging accounts for ~5% of total generation
• 🛣 Roads — traffic congestion and road accident risks
• 🌿 Environment — unsafe battery recycling causing pollution

📊 The electricity needed to charge the vehicles could account for around 5% or more of the country’s total generation. Large-scale simultaneous charging is also putting pressure on local distribution networks, while illegal commercial use of residential connections is overloading transformers and distribution lines.

💰 Revenue Loss Breakdown

📊 The Tk 4,000 crore annual revenue loss comes from:

• 💰 Unpaid electricity tariffs — illegal connections bypass metering
• 💰 Residential rate abuse — commercial charging on residential connections
• 💰 Distribution system damage — transformer overloads requiring replacement
• 💰 Unregistered vehicles — no registration fees or road tax
• 💰 Unlicensed drivers — no licensing revenue

📊 Road Safety Crisis

📊 Salahuddin said the unregulated operation of autorickshaws is also increasing traffic congestion and road accident risks. According to data presented by him:

• 📊 Battery-run autorickshaws accounted for 13.54% of vehicles involved in 6,729 road accidents recorded in 2025
• 📊 Unregistered vehicles
• 📊 Untrained drivers
• 📊 Faulty designs, defective brakes and lights
• 📊 Speeding and operation of slow-moving vehicles on highways

🌿 Environmental and Health Concerns

📊 The minister also raised concerns over unsafe handling and informal recycling of lead-acid batteries, which can cause:

• 🌾 Soil and water pollution
• 👥 Child labour health risks — child labourers face particular health risks
• 🌾 Agriculture impact — agricultural production affected
• 🐔 Poultry production impact

🏛 Government Policy Response

📊 The government is formulating a policy to bring autorickshaws under a regulated system:

• 📋 Authorised vehicles will have number plates and QR codes
• 👥 Drivers will be registered, trained and gradually brought under licensing
• 🛣 Routes, vehicle numbers and movement will be regulated
• 💻 Digital system planned to track vehicles and batteries

💬 Salahuddin said the policy would balance employment, environmental protection and traffic management.

💬 MP Rehana Akhter Ranu: Regulation Not Ban

💬 Ranu said she did not seek a ban on autorickshaws but their regulation. She proposed:

• 🛣 Moving them from major roads to secondary routes
• ☀ Introducing solar-powered charging
• 🏛 Making BRTA registration mandatory
• 🗺 Introducing zone-based operation in Dhaka

📞 AI Traffic Cameras in Dhaka

📊 The minister also informed parliament that:

• 🤖 50 AI-based traffic cameras are operating at 17 intersections in Dhaka
• 🤖 Another 200 cameras being installed under Ramna and Tejgaon traffic divisions

🌏 Strategic Context: Bangladesh Power Sector

📊 For Bangladesh’s power sector, the autorickshaw charging crisis has significant implications:

• ⚡ 5% of total generation — significant portion of national power consumed by illegal charging
• ⚡ Energy crisis compounding — adds to existing gas/LNG shortage pressures
• 💰 Tk 4,000cr revenue loss — significant fiscal impact on power sector
• 📊 Distribution network damage — transformers and lines overloaded by illegal connections
• 📊 Industrial power diversion — power diverted from productive industrial use to illegal charging

💰 Implications for Bangladesh Economy

📊 For Bangladesh’s broader economy, the autorickshaw charging crisis represents a complex challenge:

• 👥 Employment dimension — 50-80 lakh vehicles represent significant informal employment
• 💰 Fiscal dimension — Tk 4,000cr revenue loss affects government finances
• ⚡ Energy dimension — 5% of generation diverted to unregulated use
• 🏭 Industrial dimension — power diverted from industrial production
• 🌿 Environmental dimension — lead-acid battery pollution
• 📊 Safety dimension — 13.54% of road accidents involve these vehicles
• 💻 Regulatory dimension — need for comprehensive policy framework

✅ For Bangladesh’s policymakers, the autorickshaw regulation challenge requires balancing multiple competing interests: employment for millions of drivers, revenue for the government, power for industrial use, road safety for citizens, and environmental protection for communities. The government’s planned policy — with number plates, QR codes, driver registration, route regulation and digital tracking — represents a comprehensive approach that, if implemented effectively, could transform the autorickshaw sector from an unregulated burden on the power system into a properly managed contributor to the formal economy.

🌏 For the broader energy security agenda, reducing the 5% of total generation consumed by illegal autorickshaw charging could provide meaningful relief to Bangladesh’s strained power sector — particularly at a time when gas supply shortages and LNG import costs are already constraining industrial production. The transition to solar-powered charging, as proposed by MP Ranu, could further reduce the grid power burden while supporting Bangladesh’s renewable energy targets — creating a win-win outcome for employment, energy security and environmental protection.