After a long time, I took a train from Bandra to Sewri, back onto the harbour line route I hadn’t done in what feels like 15 years—maybe even more. It’s funny how a simple train ride can pull you back into old memories. I expected the city to look different by now. I expected at least some visible signs of progress along the way.
Instead, what hit me was how little seemed to have changed. From my point of view, large stretches of the harbour line still look stuck in the same loop: garbage piled up, slums pressed tight against the tracks, and those tired, dilapidated buildings that make the whole ride feel heavier than it should. It wasn’t just “messy Mumbai”—it was depressing Mumbai. The kind that makes you wonder how a place can move so fast in some directions and barely move at all in others.
After that, I landed at Sewri and headed to the Ola store to check out their so-called electric bike (4.5 Kwh Ola Roadster X) And honestly, calling it a “bike” feels like a bit of a misnomer. It’s only around 10–15 kilos heavier than my Suzuki Burgman on paper, but in real life it felt much heavier. The weight didn’t sit right, and with torque available instantly, the thing can shoot forward in a way that messes with your balance. The overall feel? Not well balanced. The kind of machine that demands extra caution, not because it’s exciting, but because it feels unpredictable.
The Ola outlet experience was its own story. Maybe it’s improved compared to what people used to say, but the place felt oddly empty. There was basically one guy there who let me take the test drive, and he kept pushing me to check details on the app rather than explaining things himself. It felt less like a proper showroom experience and more like, “Here’s the product—figure it out from your phone.”
By the end of it, I knew I wouldn’t pick the Ola electric bike. As luck would have it, I came across an Autocar India article in the latest issue. It wasn’t just critical; it was damning (panel gaps, poor finish etc. 2/10 scroes) On top of that, the bikes are being sold at a discount from the original price, and it sounds like that’s partly because the units are manufactured for 2025 and they’re not moving fast on a daily basis.
So where does that leave me? A train ride that reminded me how unchanged some parts of the city still are, followed by a product experience that didn’t inspire confidence. I’m not saying electric is the problem—far from it. But this particular electric “bike” didn’t feel like the future. It felt like something I’d have to constantly manage. And if I’m spending that kind of money, I don’t want to “manage” my ride. I want to trust it.
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