The unpretentious cycle-rickshaw has come a long way since it first appeared on the drawing sheets of Leonardo da Vinci and debuted in Japan in 1870. While that sounds good, it's not quite the truth though. It may have huffed and puffed through two centuries, but the way it looked and behaved has remained unchanged. Until last week, when the rickshaw for the new millennium was flagged off at Agra, India's top tourist destination.
And it's created quite a stir. Not surprising, for it's the first time an attempt has been made to change the design of this ubiquitous human-powered transport which has remained nothing more than a cycle bolted to a rickety cart since '47. It's lighter, roomier, hardier and more comfortable than any rickshaw has ever been. It could be cheaper once manufactured in volumes. Responsible for this innovation are three agencies: the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), US, the Delhi-based Asian Institute for Transport Development and the American funding agency, usaid. But the credit for the design, keeping in mind Indian conditions, goes to 5th Quadrant, a Delhi-based design consultancy firm. Says 5th Quadrant's T. Vineet, project leader and consultant: "It fits into today's politically-correct scenario where human rights and a pollution-free environment are the buzzphrases."
Increasingly, people began to shun rickshaws as it demeaned the drivers who strain to carry customers. Yet, they represent a pollution-free mode of transport.
The new rickshaws are a culmination of refinement in design:
This against the cumbersome design with a heavy wooden structure, large cast-iron chassis, awkwardly tilted seats and no gears. Drivers commonly meet an early death from lung and heart disease and injuries.
Says an enthused Dayal Sharma, who operates a rickshaw in Agra: "It's easier to pedal. I'm getting more passengers." Adds Vinod, also operating in the area: "Cost is important. If the price is the same as the old one, then everyone will buy it." Mukesh, his colleague, is fascinated by the gears. "They make life easier and I'm earning much more money."
Says Walter Hook, executive director, ITDP: "We've launched it in Agra due to the pollution threat to the Taj and the banning of cars within a 4-km radius. It's meant as a better alternative to the tourist. It will help locals and tourists and provide employment to a larger number of people."
Four models have been launched keeping in mind the economic status of buyers. The first is the retrofit, just the frontal portion with the gears to be fitted to an existing unit. The second is the new vehicle. The third is a 'school bus' that can carry 10-12 children. The last is meant to carry cargo. The Agra authorities have placed an order for 400 units and inquiries for more are pouring in. Says Hook: "We hope to introduce it in Delhi soon and are already test-running it in the iit campus."
Delhi with four lakh rickshaws would benefit as would India's 30 million rickshaw drivers if the plan to introduce it in Lucknow, Ahmedabad and other cities bears fruit. It's commendable that the designers haven't patented it to further a social cause for an underprivileged section of the society. So, anybody can pick up the design and manufacture it as it has been made with locally-available material. It will lower prices.
Says Matteo Martignoni, vice-president, ITDP: "The rickshaw isn't a vehicle of the past but of the future. It isn't the ultimate solution for transport problems but it can be integrated to the larger network." In an overcrowded world where modern transport is leading more to chaos and rising pollution levels than improving the quality of life, the humble rickshaw could turn out to be the ideal means of transport in the 21st century. It has finally traversed the distance between the archaic and the modern.
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