When was cycle rickshaw invented

Traditional cycle rickshaws in the subcontinent can be seen in almost every nook and corner of the region. And when one looks at them closely there is great variety in them. Some are narrow, some are wide and a few have a top while at many places the top has been done away with. Ornamentation and decoration varies from region to region. But within this wide variety there is a common thread that makes most of them less efficient and comfortable and often, less safe vehicles than desired.

This is one of the prime reasons for the gradually diminishing clientele of the cycle rickshaws. Yet, they are ubiquitous. We could look at what the principal problems are with the traditional rickshaws. One needs to look at how the traditional cycle rickshaws are constructed to understand this issue.

Cycle rickshaws can be divided into three main componentsthe front bicycle frame, the lower angle iron chassis and the wooden passenger seat structure. This main structure is usually bolted together. On this basic structure are mounted the rest of the parts like wheels, handlebars, fork, etc.

The rickshaw industry can also be divided into three sectors. The first is the mass production industry that produces the relatively complex parts that need precision -components like wheels, fork, handlebars, the chain drive, and last, but not the least, the front bicycle frame.

All these parts are primarily bicycle components that have been strengthened for the rickshaw. The strengthening on a part by part basis has resulted in a significant increase in weight. The vehicles are sold on the principle of the heavier the better! They are not rickshaw specific parts but are rather bicycle components modified for the rickshaw industry. The basic bolted-on unit is overly flexible and often misaligned. This makes the vehicle inefficient because of misalignment and excessive flex that the rider has to overcome by putting in extra effort while pedaling.

The front end is a typical black roadster bicycle frame that is large for an average subcontinentals.

It comes from the British and no one ever changed the geometry to suit average subcontinentals! The rear passenger seat is made out of thick planks of wood which are nailed together. This construction makes a heavy yet weak frame that is not very durable either. The passenger is perched up high on a spring, coir coconut husk and cotton filled seat that is small, hard and slopes forward … in short, extremely uncomfortable and dangerous.

The absence of a suspension system is enough to give a bad backache to anyone! It is also very unsafe because the small seat is a separate unit that sits on top of the wooden frame, slopes forward and comes out very easily. Often, on too strong an application of brakes, it catapults the passenger out onto the road. The seat is close to three feet above ground and the step in height is over a foot and a half making it very inconvenient especially for the elderly to climb in.

The seat has to be repaired every few months and the complete wooden structure has to be replaced every two to three years. The poor construction creates stresses in the rest of the vehicle drastically reducing its efficiency. The single high gearing ratio in the transmission often forces the driver to get off his seat and pull the rickshaw.

The traditional rickshaw weighs at 80kgs four times as much as an average bicycle, yet has a similar gearing ratio. The absence of a multi-speed gear system makes the human being riding the rickshaw act as a gearbox producing varying torque depending on the loading and road conditions.

This tires him very fast and has an adverse effect on his health. Though the improvement from the hand-pulled rickshaw to a cycle rickshaw was a radical change, the traditional cycle rickshaw has remained almost the same for over half a century since its inception in India. But unfortunately it had been too little and too far apart. The work had rarely been tested in real life conditions and in no case had been followed up to its logical conclusion of commercial implementation.

Rather, it had ended up as project reports in files at various places. This project started out of a concern for the damage caused to the world heritage monument, Taj Mahal, by the motor vehicular pollution in the city of Agra. The principal idea was to develop a modern cycle rickshaw that could demonstrate the possibility of growth of this traditional mode of transportation in India to counter the growing menace of motor vehicular pollution. After extensive research and real life testing of prototypes over a period of three years by the project design team, ICRIP created a modernized Indian cycle rickshaw.

The design process was not limited to the closed environs of the research center but involved the participation of all people involved with the rickshaws whether it be the rickshaw drivers and passengers or the manufacturers and assemblers, and others like the ones from the tourist industry.

These new rickshaws are truly revolutionary in terms of safety and comfort both for the rickshaw drivers as well as the passengers. He gets less stressed and can ply more in a day without harming his health. The center of gravity has been lowered by about a third greatly improving the stability of the vehicle. Increase in earnings can also be attributed to the very comfortable passenger seat that is woven with nylon strap on the tubular frame.

It provides comfortable and safe seating with adequate suspension, hence giving a bump-free ride. With a low step-in height, space for luggage and other passenger-friendly features like a permanent top which provides year round protection from sun and rain, the users are ready to pay more for the added comfort and more so for the safety.

Issues such as ergonomics and road safety, low maintenance and longevity of the vehicle are among other issues that were of prime consideration in the design development. An interesting feature of this new design is that the same vehicle can be used for passenger transport as well as cargo hauling therefore giving the driver more avenues of income.

Other than the passenger rickshaw, the project also developed the design of a school bus rickshaw specifically meant to provide a comfortable and safe ride to and back from the school to young students who need such daily service.

These vehicles seat up to 8 children of the age group of years and have space for their school bags. A step for easy ingress-exit and a safety door are some of the other important features of this vehicle. Participation by the commercial sector was an essential aspect of this project, and played an important role in its success on a large scale. The design process kept in mind the rickshaw industry and how this new design could be incorporated with ease into the existing system.

The main changes in the design were the light yet strong mild steel integral frame and the option of a multi gear system, plus the comfortable passenger seating which enticed more and more passengers to choose these new rickshaws as their preferred mode of transport.

This modern rickshaw still retains most sectors of the traditional rickshaw industry and adds to it a new sector — frame manufacturing. Precision components like wheels and handlebars are still made by the centralized mass production bicycle industry.

The front bicycle frame becomes redundant. By the end of the century, the rickshaw arrived in China, India, Hong Kong and Singapore, where it became popular almost instantly, changing the traffic on the streets.

The rickshaw was also introduced to South Africa and Pakistan, although it did not make as big of an impact there as compared to Asia. Apart from the ascent of automobiles and the invention of cycle and auto rickshaws, another reason for the rickshaw's decline was the poor conditions that rickshaw pullers had to endure.

They worked extremely long hours for very poor pay, and many of them lived on the brink of poverty, with the rickshaw serving as their mobile homes. In Singapore, the income for rickshaw pullers remained unchanged for fifty years , at a meager 60 cents per day.

Mao Zedong also placed a ban on rickshaws during China's Communist era, as he viewed them as a symbol of oppression against the working class.

The only place where you can still find a large-scale rickshaw operation is in Calcutta, India, and even there the cycle rickshaw is more common than hand-pulled ones. Although many human rights organizations have voiced their disapproval, the locals believe that a ban of the rickshaw would cause widespread unemployment and starvation.

The traditional rickshaw can also be found throughout Japan as a cultural experience for tourists. These modern rickshaw pullers are also tour-guides, who take tourists to popular spots and provide running commentaries. He was living in Yokohama, Japan, during the s and decided to create an innovative vehicle which would comfortable transport his invalid, physically weak wife around the streets of the city.

Thus took place the birth of the first man-pulled rickshaw, in the year This method of transportation became massively popular in Japan, with over , vehicles appearing in Japan only 10 years after it was invented! In fact, by , there were some 40, rickshaws operating in Tokyo, and became the most popular mode of transport in the country.

It was introduced in India by Chinese traders, who used them to transport goods. Later, in , the Chinese applied for government permission to start using rickshaws to transport people and soon they had established themselves in all the big cities of South Asia, as it was a popular job for peasants migrating from the small villages.

The rickshaw craze had even reached South Africa, especially in the city of Durban, where these rickshaws were pulled by fierce Zulu tribesmen! Can you imagine riding in a rickshaw pulled by a fearsome African warrior? Rickshaws were still popular in Japan, until World War II, when they were used increasingly because the prices of petrol had risen very high. But once the war was over, Japan converted to using motorised vehicles, and the human-drawn rickshaw was less frequently seen. Pulling a rickshaw is a strenuous and tiring work.

Imagine spending the entire day cycling around bumpy, crowded roads in the heat, with bags of wheat and groups of people seated in the back! Many people could cram into the rickshaw in those days, and the poor driver had to work so hard to get them to their destinations quickly. The Pakistani government outlawed the pulled rickshaw in the early s.