A drive cycle is a time series of vehicle speed pattern developed to simulate real world driving conditions. These driving cycles are used for estimating vehicle on-road energy consumption, vehicle emissions, and traffic impact. Vehicle operating on fossil fuels are a significant source of air pollution, and these are being replaced by a small electrical vehicle in congested road traffic conditions, such as densely populated residential areas, near hospitals and market places, etc. The electrical vehicle run quieter and does not produce emissions like combustion engines. So far, there is no existing drive cycle officially developed for electric three wheelers which can represent real world driving pattern in India.
In this study, 15 electrical auto rickshaws were driven by different drivers in various routes of a Tier II city of India and vehicle speed and time pattern were recorded using onboard Global Positioning System (GPS). Trip data was analyzed and logically compressed to develop a driving cycle for electrical three wheelers. The critical driving parameters such as relative position acceleration, average speed, and positive kinetic energy were computed and compared with standard regulatory cycles used for motorcycles. This newly developed driving cycle is useful for the development of new drive train and efficient batteries and their evaluation.