Rickshaw
Rickshaws (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. The word rickshaw came from Asia where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite.
Runner pulled rickshaws have mainly been replaced in Asia by bicycle rickshaws. They are also common in Western cities like New York City. In London they are known as pedicabs. The term "rickshaw" is today commonly used for those vehicles as well, but this article deals exclusively with runner-pulled rickshaws.
The word "rickshaw" originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (人力車, 人 jin = human, 力 riki = strength, 車 sha = vehicle), which literally means "human-powered vehicle."
History
The 1707 painting "Les deux carrosses" by Claude Gillot shows two rickshaw-like carts in a comical scene. These carts, known as vinaigrettes because of their resemblance to the wheel barrows of vinegar makers, were used in the streets of Paris in the 17th and 18th century. (Fresnault-Deruelle, 2005)
Rickshaws first appeared in Japan around 1868, at the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. They soon became a popular mode of transportation, since they were faster than the previously used palanquins (and human labor was considerably cheaper than using horses).
The identity of the inventor (if there was one) remains uncertain. Some sources give the American blacksmith Albert Tolman, who is said to have invented the rickshaw around 1848 in Worcester, Massachusetts for a missionary; others claim that Jonathan Scobie (or W. Goble), an American missionary to Japan, invented rickshaws around 1869 to transport his invalid wife through the streets of Yokohama.
Still others say the rickshaw was designed by an American Baptist minister in 1888. This is undoubtedly incorrect, for an 1877 article by a The New York Times correspondent in Tokyo stated that the "jin-riki-sha, or man-power carriage" was in current popular use, and was probably invented by an American in 1869 or 1870.
A rumour currently circulating in the United Kingdom credits Richard Shaw, an unemployed taxi driver from Birmingham, as the inventor of the rickshaw. However, given that the rickshaw was in existence long before taxis were invented, this is highly unlikely.
Japanese sources often credit Izumi Yosuke, Suzuki Tokujiro, and Takayama Kosuke, who are said to have invented rickshaws in 1868, inspired by the horse carriages that had been introduced to the streets of Tokyo shortly before.
By 1872, some 40,000 rickshaws were operating in Tokyo; they soon became the chief form of public transportation in Japan. (Powerhouse Museum, 2005; The Jinrikisha story, 1996)
Around 1880, rickshaws appeared in India, first in Simla and then, 20 years later, in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Soon after, rickshaws appeared in many big cities in Southeast Asia; pulling a rickshaw was often the first job for peasants migrating to these cities.
In China, rickshaws were banned after the Communist takeover in 1949. (WebIndia, 2005)
It was thought that the mighty Spartans used rickshaw-like modes of transportation when they fought the Persians at the Gates of Thermopylae. This, however, has not been substantiated.
Country overview
Bangladesh
Rickshaws in Bangladesh are cycle-powered, and are available for hire throughout the country; Bangladesh's capital is sometimes called the "City of Rickshaws". However, increasing traffic congestion and the resulting collisions have led to the banning of cycle rickshaws on many major streets in the city. Still, in many parts of Old Dhaka, rickshaws are the only kind of vehicle that can travel through the narrow streets. Rickshaw-pullers are known as rikshaoala in Bengali.
Hong Kong
Rickshaws were first imported from Japan to Hong Kong in 1874. They were a popular form of transport for many years, peaking at more than 3,000 in the 1920s. However, their popularity waned after World War II. No new licenses for rickshaws have been issued since 1975, and only a few old men—about four as of 2002—still ply their trade, mainly for tourists.
India
- Kolkata
As of 2005, the last sizeable fleet of true rickshaws can be found in Kolkata (Calcutta), where the rickshaw puller union resisted prohibition.
Several major streets have been closed to rickshaw traffic since 1972, and in 1982 the city seized over 12,000 rickshaws and destroyed them. In 1992, it was estimated that over 30,000 rickshaws were operating in the city, all but 6,000 of them illegally, lacking a license (no new licenses have been issued since 1945).
In August 2005, the Communist government of West Bengal announced plans to completely ban rickshaws, resulting in protests and strikes of the pullers. (WebIndia, 2005)
They have finally officially been banned in November 2006 by an ordinance of the West Bengal government along with so far pending government promises of rehabitating the poor rickshaw pullers.
A very efficient electric cycle rickshaw has been developed which can reduce the drugery of rickshaw puller and also give him an extra income.[1]
- Matheran
Matheran, India is a tourist hill station near Mumbai. It is an eco-sensitive zone where motor vehicles are banned so man-pulled rickshaws are still one of the major forms of transport there.
Republic of Ireland
Dublin first saw the humble rickshaw on its streets in 1996, a rickshaw company based in Canada set up a fleet of 20 rickshaws, building them from tubular steel, Dublin people used to call them the becks rickshaws on account of their advertising, however this company was actually called the original rickshaw company. The people of Dublin, both locals and tourists alike, were surprised at first to see the Far Eastern concept in Ireland. Later that year 12 pedicab rickshaws were imported by a wine club owner named B. McDonald who started Pedicabs Ireland.
Rickshaws were a common mode of transport in urban areas in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, rickshaws were gradually replaced by cycle rickshaws (beca in Malay). Cycle rickshaws were also ubiquitous up to the 1970s in Malaysian cities. Since then, rapid urbanization has increased demand for more efficient public transport, resulting in dwindling rickshaw numbers.
Madagascar
Rickshaws, known as pousse-pousse, are a common form of transport in a number of Malagasy cities. They are often brightly decorated.
South Africa
The many registered Zulu rickshaw pullers, with their gigantic hats and colourful clothing, are a major tourist attraction in the city of Durban.
Pakistan
Cycle rickshaws and jin ricksaws have officially been outlawed in Pakistan since the late 50s/early 60s. The country remains home to a large number of auto-rickshaws.
United Kingdom
Pedicab rickshaws have been operating on the streets of Soho. There are reports of 80000 operating in and around the environs of West London.
United States
In many major cities, because yellow cabs licenses medallions are artificially capped, bicycle rickshaws have been used for about a decade.
Vietnam
In the downtown areas of Vietnamese big cities, rickshaws are used as a mean of transportation, mostly for tourism.
Tourist attractions
Rickshaws are a tourist attraction in the Asakusa region of Tokyo; in the main temple area of Kyoto; in tourist heavy areas of Kamakura; on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong; on Cijin Island in Kaohsiung; in areas of London's Chinatown, Ottawa's Byward Market; in downtown Toronto; in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). In all of these places, they are mainly for tourists.
Books, films, TV, Music
An early Rudyard Kipling story has the title The Phantom Rickshaw (1885). In it a young Englishman has a romance aboard a ship bound for India. There he marries another woman and his original love dies of a broken heart.
The 1936 novel Luotuo Xiangzi by Lao She describes the life of a rickshaw runner in Beijing in the 1920s. The English version Rickshaw Boy became a U.S. bestseller in 1945; it was an unauthorized translation that added a happy ending to the story. In 1982, the original version was made into a film of the same title.
The 1953 Bollywood film Do Bigha Zameen, directed by Bimal Roy, describes the fate of an impoverished farmer who becomes a rickshaw puller in Kolkata.
In the episode The Bookstore of the American sitcom Seinfeld, Kramer and Newman import rickshaws to New York City, for the purpose of running a business. They intend to employ members of the city's homeless population; however, one steals their rickshaw. The two recover the rickshaw, and Newman forces Kramer to transport him uphill, a voyage Kramer is unable to make.
In Pearl S. Buck's 1931 novel The Good Earth, hero Wang Lung leaves his land to travel southward during a drought. He ends up in the city of Kiangsu, where he becomes a rickshaw puller in order to support his family.
In 2006 Documentary film Men of burden Pedeling towards a Horizon Set in the city of Pondicherry, a Union Territory in South East India, the Documentary film uncovers the story of disappearing Cycle rickshaw drivers living in abject poverty.
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