New Delhi: Indian officials said Friday they had taken down two smartphone apps following reports that some e-rickshaws could be remotely shut down, exploiting a security gap in the budget vehicles.
Many e-rickshaws, the battery-powered version of the popular mode of transportation in India, often use Chinese-made, Bluetooth-enabled battery management units which lack safety features.
Over the last few days, videos of people using Chinese battery management apps to remotely cut power to e-rickshaws mid-ride have gone viral in the country.
The videos show people approaching e-rickshaws on busy streets, connecting to a vehicle's battery system via Bluetooth and bringing it to a halt by cutting power to the motor through a discharge switch.
AFP could not independently verify whether the apps work in the manner the videos indicate.
Senior information and technology ministry official S. Krishnan told reporters that a "couple of apps" had been brought to their attention.
"Both of them have been taken down from the app stores," he said.
While Krishnan offered no additional details, local media reports said the two apps were Chinese-developed and were called "BAT-BMS" and "Epoch Li-ion".
Only rickshaws with Bluetooth-enabled lithium battery packs using unsecured battery management systems were affected -- not those that run on lead-acid batteries.
An e-rickshaw driver in capital New Delhi whose vehicle was stalled on Thursday told AFP he was losing wages "because of these apps".
"Yesterday my e-rickshaw stopped working. In Delhi's extreme heat, I had to push it alone for six or seven kilometres to the (service centre) to get the problem fixed," said Ghanshyam Kumar, 28.
The passengers refused to pay the fare, he added.
"Such incidents have increased significantly over the past week. That's why there are long queues at the service centre, and we end up wasting a lot of time there as well," he said.
The Delhi government's transport minister Pankaj Singh told the Press Trust of India news agency that police would investigate the incidents.
