Bangladesh’s remarkable transformation in urban transportation showcases both promise and peril of grassroots innovation. With 4 million battery-powered auto rickshaws serving 112 million passengers daily, these host the world’s largest informal electric vehicle fleet. It generates USD 1.16 billion annually while employing more than 3.5 million people across manufacturing, operations, and maintenance sectors. This study examines the economic benefits and environmental externalities of Bangladesh’s unregulated grassroots electrification to inform sustainable mobility policy frameworks in emerging markets. Systemic field assessments, energy consumption analysis, and environmental impact qualification were conducted across major urban transport corridors. An environmental and energy economics framework was applied to measure welfare trade-offs between immediate economic gains and long-term health costs. This sector consumes 700-800 MW of electricity, which is 2.5% of national generation capacity. It generates severe externalities, around 167000 metric tons of lead waste annually through informal battery recycling, which makes Bangladesh the 4th most lead-polluted country globally. These practices incur USD 91 million in annual tax revenue losses and expose 36 million children to elevated blood lead levels, among them 60% are under 18. This is resulting in substantial public health burdens. The research provides the first comprehensive quantitative analysis of informal electric mobility adoption externalities, demonstrating how rapid technological transitions in developing economies create complex welfare and policy implications. These findings contribute critical empirical evidence to the Environment and Energy Economics literature on grassroots electrification patterns, with direct implications for sustainable mobility policy frameworks in emerging markets.
Imtiaz et al. (Thu,) studied this question.