The end of the rickshaw is in sight December 5, 2006
Posted by Al in : interesting,transport , trackbackCalcutta, one of the few places left where rickshaws are commonly used, has decided to ban them as a form of inhumane transport. And so another piece of culture leaves us under the guidance of those who mean well, but may not have necessarily thought their actions through. I’m certain that the vast majority of the rickshaw pullers would prefer to be working for their living, rather than begging to survive. However not having been a rickshaw puller, and not having been to Calcutta (yet) I will not comment further. I did rather like the quote from the head of the All Bengal Rickshaw Pullers Union, who said they would not be opposed to the ban as long as jobs were not lost – uh, they just banned your job, so I’m pretty certain there will be job losses.
I’ve just checked Wikipedia and there’s only a small town in India, most of Bangladesh, Hong Kong (not sure quite where – but there’s only a few left) and Durban left to get a rickshaw ride. I don’t much fancy Bangladesh, I’m unlikely to visit a small town outside Mumbai, so there’s just Durban and Hong Kong left. I know where I’ll be looking to try to get one of the last rickshaw rides ever.
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