Cycle rickshaw
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Indonesia bike5.JPG A cycle rickshaw, also known as a pedicab, velotaxi, or trishaw ("sān lún chē" (Template:Lang), from tricycle rickshaw) is a human-powered vehicle for hire, usually with one or two seats for carrying passengers in addition to the driver. Cycle rickshaws are widely used for transportation in many parts of Asia, where they have largely replaced less-efficient hand-pulled rickshaws that required the driver to walk or run while pulling the vehicle.
The vehicle is powered by the driver pedalling as one would a bicycle, though some rare configurations also have an electric motor assisting the driver. The vehicle is usually a tricycle, though some quadricycles exist, and some bicycles with trailers are configured as rickshaws. The configuration of the driver's and passenger's seat varies, though in general only one configuration is common in any given region. For example, in South Asia, the passenger seat is mounted behind the driver's, while in Indonesia the driver sits behind the passenger seat. In the Philippines, the seats are usually mounted side-by-side.
Cycle rickshaws are known as cyclo (pronounced see-clo) in Cambodia and Vietnam, cycle rickshaw in India and Bangladesh, samlor (literally "three wheels") in Thailand, trishaw in Malaysia and Singapore, and becak in Indonesia. In the Philippines, they are called traysikel,traysikad, pedicab, or padyak. Cycle rickshaws are known as saika in Myanmar, a transliteration of English "side car".
Image:TricycleCarriage.jpg Cycle rickshaws are also used in some European and North American cities, where they are most often found near tourist attractions. There are several American and European manufacturers of cycle rickshaws, which often incorporate features not found in developing-world vehicles, such as hydraulic disc brakes and lightweight fibreglass bodies.
Contents |
Economic and political aspects
In many Asian cities where they are widely used, rickshaw driving provides essential employment recent immigrants from rural areas, generally impoverished men. One study in Bangladesh showed that rickshaw driving was connected with some increases in income for poor agricultural laborers who moved to urban areas, but that the extreme physical demands of the job meant that these benefits decreased for long-term drivers. <ref name="begum2005">Begum, Sharifa and Binayak Sen (2005). Pulling rickshaws in the city of Dhaka: a way out of poverty? Environment and Urbanization 17(2):11-25.</ref> In Jakarta, most rickshaw drivers in the 1980s were former landless agricultural laborers from rural areas of Java.<ref name="azuma2003">Azuma, Yoshifumi (2003). Urban peasants: beca drivers in Jakarta. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan.</ref>
In 2003, Dhaka rickshaw drivers earned an estimated average of Tk 143 (US$2.38) per day, of which they paid about Tk 50 (US$0.80) to rent the rickshaw for a day. Older, long-term drivers earned substantially less.<ref name="begum2005"/> A 1988-89 survey found that Jakarta drivers earned an average of Rp. 2722 (US$ 1.57).<ref name="azuma2003"/> These wages, while widely considered very low for such physically demanding work, do in some situations compare favorably to other jobs available to unskilled workers.<ref name="gallagher1992">Gallagher, Rob (1992). The rickshaws of Bangladesh. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.</ref>
In many cities, most drivers do not own their own rickshaws; instead, they rent them from their owners, some of whom own many rickshaws. Driver-ownership rates vary widely. In Delhi, a 1980 study found only one percent of drivers owned their vehicles, but rates in several other Indian cities were much higher, including fifteen percent in Hyderabad and twenty-two percent in Faridabad. A 1977 study in Chiang Mai, Thailand found that 44% of rickshaw drivers were owners. In Bangladesh, driver-ownership is usually highest in rural areas and lowest in the larger cities. Most rickshaws in that country are owned by individuals who have only one or two of them, but some owners in the largest cities own several hundred.<ref name="gallagher1992"/>
Some countries and cities have banned or restricted cycle rickshaws. They are often prohibited in congested areas of major cities. For example, they were banned in Bangkok in the mid 1960s as not fitting the city's modern image. In Dhaka and Jakarta, they are no longer permitted on major roads, but are still used to provide transportation within individual urban neighborhoods. They are banned entirely in Pakistan. While they have been criticized for causing congestion, rickshaws are also often hailed as environmentally-friendly, inexpensive modes of transportation.
Hazards of the Occupation
Bicylcling several hours a day for several hours a week can result in pudendal nerve entrapment. If the bicycle seat is angled down in the front, then it is less likely to happen. The pudendal nerve travels from the back through the perenium to the genitals. Entrapment sometimes results in constant pain in the testes or clitoris severe enough to cause several suicides.
Film
- The 1995 movie Cyclo, by Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung, is centered on a cycle rickshaw driver.
- The 1990s Tollywood movie Orey Rickshaw (Orey literally means "Hey", though in a derogatory tone) tells a story sympathising with the downtrodden.
- Rickshavodu ("Rickshaw Guy") is another Tollywood movie starring Chiranjeevi in the lead roles.
- The 2004 Bollywood movie Main Hoon Na, starring Shahrukh Khan, features a scene with the hero riding a cycle rickshaw downhill after an SUV full of terrorists.
See also
References
<references/>