Fuel prices a boon to advocates of bicycle rickshaws, New Delhi

“We should be building bike lanes to provide the cycle rickshaws a humane driving area for many reasons. Let’s face it, fuel prices are only getting higher, and here we have an alternative right in front of us,” said Vivek Chattopadhyaya, the center’s pollution researcher. “If we keep banning them, we will regret this in future generations.”

Some activists in India cite the increasing number of bicycle rickshaws being used in cities such as London, Paris, New York and Washington, often in neighborhoods with high congestion and heavy foot traffic. Local governments have welcomed the rickshaws as environmentally friendly alternatives.

There are an estimated 600,000 bicycle rickshaws in New Delhi serving an estimated 4 million customers. Trips range from one to six miles. The rickshaws — many festooned with flowers and tricked out with paintings of cartoonish Bollywood starlets and cricket stars — usually charge less than 50 cents a trip.

In Bangladesh’s traffic-clogged capital of Dhaka, where there have been widespread protests over the rising prices of rice and fuel, rickshaw cyclist Shamsul Haque said business has never been better.

“There’s been a turning point suddenly,” said Haque, 25, a father of two who moved from a rural area to get a job as a rickshaw cyclist. “Our customers know we are cheap and very friendly.”

Some government officials have a different view.

“The rickshaws are popular in the walled old city like Chandni Chowk, but they can lead to large amounts of congestion,” said Pawan Khera, secretary to the chief minister of New Delhi. “It’s also not so easy for them since there are so many different kinds of motorized traffic on the roads.”

Khera said cycle rickshaws will always have a place around the city, but perhaps only in certain areas. New Delhi, meanwhile, is working to curb pollution by expanding the metro rail system and requiring new buses to run on compressed natural gas.

On a recent day in Chandni Chowk, rickshaw cyclists could be seen sweating and straining as they conveyed passengers through the city. Amid the chaotic lanes lined with sellers of Rajasthani slippers, fresh lime soda and incense, a few sari shoppers loaded stacks of wedding clothes onto one rusty old rickshaw. Their fare would be a quarter of what it would cost to drive or take a taxi.

“We do a proper job for everyone,” lamented Mohammed Avip, 35, a rickshaw cyclist nearby. “Why does the police and government harass us so?”

1|2

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email