Cycle Rickshaws Research Articles

Intimacy and industry: the multiple heterosexual intimacies shaping cycle rickshaw men’s labor and migration in India

ABSTRACT Indian men who migrated circularly from their village homes to Delhi to pedal cycle rickshaws for work practiced intimate relationships with their wives, sex workers, and middle-class female customers. While the intimacy practiced by South Asian men who migrate is, in popular discourse, often framed as deviancy or assumed to be only about physical gratification, this article’s ethnography demonstrates that rickshaw men’s heterosexual/erotic intimacies took multiple forms which were variously characterized by sexual exchange, physical closeness, emotional connections, and/or the denial of gender and sexuality. The intimate practices were informed by intersecting identities and systems of social hierarchy, and it is argued that they had considerable bearing on the men’s migration decisions and labor performance. Although neither intimacy studies nor South Asian labor migration studies are in the habit of analyzing industries like the cycle rickshaw industry through the same lens as, for example, sex work or surrogacy and fertility work, a case is made that such industries that rely on South Asian male migrants’ manual labor and migration may, too, be profitably understood as intimate industries.

Cycling as work: mobility and informality in Indian cities

Set against the marginalization of cycling in Kolkata and Delhi, this article shows how cargo-cyclists and cycle rickshaw pullers make productive contributions to urban economies and negotiate constraints to their mobility in Indian cities. As cheap vehicles, bicycles and cycle rickshaws not only provide opportunities for social and economic mobility, but also contribute to, generate, and sustain vital urban economies. Cycle workers ensure the smooth transportation of goods, people, and services in Indian cities. Situating cycle work at the crossroads of anthropology and urban planning, this article demonstrates how the interdependence of urban economies, regulation of space, and constraints to everyday mobility advances knowledge on contemporary Indian cities. Instead of seeing these spheres as separate strands of investigation and analysis, we suggest that cycling as work draws them together.

Financial Inclusion Through Banking for the Poor: A Study on Cycle Rickshaw Pullers in West Bengal

Financial services actively contribute to the economic development of society. This leads to social safety that protects people from economic shocks. The present study seeks to ascertain whether cycle rickshaw pullers of West Bengal have bank accounts and to also investigate if bank account awareness among cycle rickshaw pullers are affected by different socio-economic factors. The study has been conducted on 170 rickshaw pullers who belong to the poor and marginalized sections of society. The study uses logistic regression to estimate important factors that influence the opening of a bank account. The goodness of fit of the model is checked in terms of the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. A large percentage of this group of rickshaw pullers is excluded from banking services. Among the 10 explanatory variables, the study finds that the number of years pulling cycle rickshaws, the monthly income and social participation are the factors that significantly influence the opening of a bank account. It has been observed that the respondents have meager incomes, low levels of health care and personal well-being, lives entrapped in poverty and are, on the whole, excluded from the mainstream. To include them in the mainstream financial services, the study suggests valid recommendations to draw the attention of the regulators and banks towards financial inclusion. JEL Codes: G21, G29

The last mile connectivity: Experience of passengers and drivers of E-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws in an Indian city

Promoting mobility by public transport, rather than individual automobiles, is a worldwide accepted and promoted sustainable solution. Traditionally, cycle-rickshaws have been the backbone of localised transportation in cities of India, thus a key component of 'Last Mile Connectivity' (LMC) in the urban transport sector. However, in the last few years, there has been an attempt to replace cycle rickshaws with battery-operated 'e-rickshaws' to make cities smarter. This paper examines the feasibility and consequences of such change in Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand state in India, its impact on traditional cycle rickshaw pullers; and how they fit in the overall urban transport sector. This paper presents Passengers' and Drivers' overall experience of E-Rickshaws and Cycle Rickshaws in promoting last-mile connectivity. Data collected through in-depth interviews with twenty e-rickshaw drivers, twenty rickshaw pullers, and twenty passengers in Ranchi highlights the user experiences of e-rickshaw and advantages, disadvantages, as well as the effectiveness of e-rickshaw on the streets. The study shows that E-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws may remain a viable Last Mile Connectivity in the urban transport sector.

ANALYSIS OF REGULATORY DOCUMENTS ON THE ARRANGEMENT OF CYCLE LANES WITHIN URBAN STREETS

Today, the global interest in cycling is growing rapidly because cycling is an ecological, comfortable, healthy mode of transport that has certain advantages over other modes of transportation. However, the infrastructure should be developed very well. The development of cycling transport is slow in Ukraine. The article analyzed the existing public regulations on the width of bicycle lanes within urban streets, as well as a comparison of public and foreign safety requirements for cyclists. The realm of application of the existing regulatory documents is provided making cycle lanes and paths during the construction, reconstruction, and overhaul of streets and roads. The emergence of normative documents on bicycle infrastructure is a positive factor in Ukraine, but a basis for the development of public standards for the organization of bike paths was adopted European standards developed 10 years ago that doesn’t take into account today's requirements, but Germany adopted new guidelines on 28 June 2020. The analysis of the normative documents on the creation of cycle lanes snowed the smallest index in the criteria of safety. Cycle lanes with one-way traffic with a width of 1.50 are marked with markings, as Ukrainian norms are allowing, but they don’t assure requirements of safety and cannot ensure the attraction of potential users, and, accordingly, the development of cycling infrastructure. When the existing regulatory documents have been developing the standard parameters of bicycles and the capabilities of experienced cyclists were taken into account, while among potential users there are different age groups, persons with disabilities, etc., as well as modifications of bicycles with dimensions different that differ from the standard parameters. These are bicycles with an additional frame for transportation and training on behavior on the streets of teenagers, special ones that allow the use of persons with disabilities, cars with trailers, tricycles, tandems, including those with a wheelchair, cycle rickshaws and the like. The development of the public normative documents should be preceded by a thorough study of contemporary normative documents of the countries of the world. Changes in the normative document are proposed in accordance with safety requirements.

“Work Is Mandaa”: Breadwinning, Sexual Fitness, and Anti‐Productivism among Cycle Rickshaw Men in North India

AbstractMen who migrate to Delhi, India, from West Bengal to fulfill the male breadwinner expectation by operating cycle rickshaws claim that business is slow, which keeps their families’ expectations for remittances low and helps camouflage their slacking. Slacking is a crucial activity in light of the men’s belief that operating a cycle rickshaw dries out their bodies such that it reduces their sexual fitness. Their laziness supports the masculine goal of remaining sexually fit, and when they privilege this goal over the demand for productivity inherent in the breadwinner role, the standard analytic of productive versus reproductive labor becomes untenable. It is instead argued that the men’s behavior reveals a limited case of anti‐productivism. Studies of anti‐productivism are usually confined to Western workers, and those that take gender into account usually focus on workers’ gendered positions in society’s division of labor. This article shows how clashes between gender ideals at the somatic level can provoke an anti‐productivist response. It also shows that tension between culturally particular ideas about the embodied consequences of labor performance and workers’ gendered body ideals can have profound effects on the workers’ orientation to their labor.1

Trips Generated by Rickshaw Pullers and Trip Rate for Cycle Rickshaws: A Case Study of Delhi

With rapid growth in urbanization, the demand of infrastructural services has boosted up. High economic opportunities in metropolitan cities lead to increased movement of people which ultimately results in very large demand of transportation services. As transportation sector has very large impact on the social, economic and environmental growth of a country it is imperative to make it greener and more sustainable. For a country to have a better growth, transportation sector should be inclusive and provide equity. Cycle Rickshaws are a green mode of transport that has to the potential to provide last-mile-connectivity, act as feeder mode, as well as supplant motorized trips for shorter distances. The usage of cycle rickshaw is seen in many parts of India and it forms a popular mode of transport for shorter trips made in small towns. Since NCT of Delhi, which has tremendous number of motorized vehicles plying on its roads, the promotion and improvement in cycle-rickshaw services may provide a respite to the environment from the carbon load. With this motivation, this study aims to study the trip generation pattern for cycle rickshaw for selected locations of Delhi. The results reveal that age, status and duration of ownership, income, perception of difficulty governs the number of trips generated by pullers. Occupancy and the trip rates are also analyzed in the article. This study aims to provide an initiative towards the development of sustainable transportation by taking a step forward in the direction of organized structure of Non-motorized vehicles.

The Ergonomic Assessment of Cycle Rickshaw Operators Using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (Rula) Tool and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (Reba) Tool

Abstract In India, the population of about eight lacks people who are engaged in riding cycle rickshaw as an occupation. It is an unorganized sector of India. A cycle rickshaw is a modified form of bicycle which is the cheapest mode of transportation for carrying passengers, luggage and goods. Many tasks connected with this occupation are associated with strenuous body postures, and some body movements typical for this job which, when combined with a heavy load, result in frequent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).Working postures were analyzed by means of Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) tool and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) tool in order to determine the area of discomfort. The outcome of the research is beneficial for manufactures of cycle rickshaws and similar products well as users of such products, including cycle rickshaw operators. Some suggestions were given to have increase the comfort and safety level.

The mimicry of the state as a state practice: the regulation of rickshaw licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh)

ABSTRACTAround half a million cycle rickshaws are currently active in Dhaka, Bangladesh. With only 86,000 official licenses available, different types of organizations supply licenses to most rickshaw drivers. These non-official licenses mimic the language of the state. This article argues that while these licenses appear as part of non-state, hybrid, or twilight institutions, they in fact constitute a state practice. Based on approximately 200 semi-structured interviews at six locations in Dhaka and offering a conceptualization of the Bangladesh state as a party-state, the article shows that the operation of non-official rickshaw licenses and the mimicry entailed is an inherent part of party-state governance, one which is not morally neutral. While most respondents saw the everyday benefits of non-official licenses in the absence of sufficient official ones, the latter remained the most prized and, if made available, respondents agreed that the former would become redundant.

Do I walk or ride the rickshaw? Examining the factors affecting first- and last-mile trip options in the historic district of Manila (Philippines)

Historic urban centers (HUCs) such as the Ermita District in Manila display a compact, mixed, and human-scale urban form. Because of these features, people in these areas still depend on either walking or riding a pedicab (also known as cycle rickshaws) to reach their destinations. The latter mode, considered an informal non-motorized transport (NMT), is widely preferred by commuters as their first- and last-mile trip option to navigate the narrow street network of these historic districts. However, it is unclear what factors affect an individual’s first- and last-mile choices. Through a face-to-face intercept survey, respondents were asked about their relative preference between the two mode choices to capture the factors that influenced their decision to walk or to ride the pedicab within Ermita. By utilizing logit choice analysis, the study identified statistically significant mode-specific, as well as qualitative, variables that influenced individual decisions. The probability outcome showed that the most significant factors were access and/or egress time, cost over travel time, safety, and accessibility of the walking environment. It is also important to note that pedicab users had a longer average trip distance (about a kilometer) than walkers, and women, including those who were accompanied by children, preferred to use pedicabs. Results from this study can help district-level planning and policymaking in three ways: (1) by improving the physical environment through encouraging the use of NMT such as walking and pedicab riding as crucial first- and/or last-mile options for individuals in HUCs; (2) by aligning routes and regulations for pedicab services to be part of an overall transport service provision, and (3) by undertaking infrastructure improvements for safer walkway environments for pedestrians, considering the implications of walking and pedicab riding to individual, population-level health outcomes and overall quality of life.

Role of Non -Motorized Transport in Distribution of Goods in the Metropolitan City of Delhi

Abstract Freight transport plays a vital role in metropolitan economy of Delhi. The goods traffic moving in and out of Delhi is increasing at an average annual growth rate of 10.97%. While LCV forms the backbone of goods movement along with goods auto rickshaws in Delhi for longer leads the non-motorized modes are increasingly becoming important for shorter leads for distributing goods particularly in wholesale markets located in the Walled city besides selected wholesale markets located outside the walled city. This present paper is an attempt to highlight the role of NMT modes such as cycle rickshaws, handcarts, animal carts, cycle rickshaw and head loads in five case wholesale markets located in walled city of Delhi dealing in foodgrains, textiles, autoparts, electrical and hardware respectively besides two wholesale markets of timber and fruits & vegetable market at Kotla and Okhla in South Delhi respectively.

Technology, knowledge and markets: connecting the dots—electric rickshaw in India as a case study

Innovation is a process of integrated thinking. The interactions between technology, market and the need for technology remain unconnected. Connecting these unconnected dots leads to a market disruption, paving the way for an economically viable innovation. India has various national-level programmes that foster innovation environments for the creation of economic empowerment. This paper looks at one such innovation: the soleckshaw: solar electric rickshaw. The emergence of these electric rickshaws came from enhancing the design of already existing cycle rickshaws to create better rickshaws, which are socially acceptable as they reduce human drudgery and are environment friendly, leaving a low-carbon footprint. The case being highlighted here, that existing knowledge connected with existing technology to address a need, leads to new consumers and new markets and eventually causing a technology-led policy intervention. The paper also looks at the role non-exclusive licencing plays in the absorption and dissemination of an innovation.

The Role of Cycle Rickshaws in Urban Transport

Cycle rickshaws continue to play an important role in meeting the mobility demands in South Asian cities. Current transport policies, however, do not support their use. Rickshaws are viewed as a cause of congestion and a profession in which rickshaw owners exploit poor people. This article presents data from published studies to argue against those views. Data from Delhi metro users suggests that as cities expand their public transport services, rickshaws will continue as an important feeder mode in the future. Recent studies also suggest that if separate lanes are created for non-motorized vehicles (which can be used by bicycles as well), then rickshaws and motorized vehicles will experience less congestion and non-motorized vehicles will be exposed to lower traffic crash risk. This article advocates the collection of relevant data concerning rickshaw trips and the number of rickshaws in future travel surveys and that appropriate infrastructures should be designed to facilitate their movement.

What's new in emergencies, trauma and shock? studying traffic related injuries in India.

In urban India, cycle rickshaws are a significant mode of transport. Exact numbers are hard to obtain, but it is estimated that there are 2 million or more rickshaws on the road. Taken together, cycle rickshaws account for 6-8 billion passenger kilometer/year. Recent research analyzed the workload of cycle rickshaw pullers. The investigators concluded that pulling the cycle rickshaw is heavy to very heavy, which also corresponds to the subjective assessment of the participants. As known from other countries, pedestrians, cyclists, and other (motorized) two wheeled vehicle users are the most endangered road users to sustain accidents and corresponding serious injuries and death. Said this, rickshaw pullers as well as rickshaw users have to be categorized into this high-risk group. So far, little is known about injury pattern and characteristics of cycle rickshaw pullers or users. The study at hand presents new data of 84 patients, which were involved in a road traffic accident related to cycle rickshaws. A predominance of young men was evident with a peak between 20 years and 30 years of age. Crash characteristics were differentiated between single and multiple vehicle crashes. Interestingly, overturned vehicles were predominant in this group. The authors found an overload of the rickshaw in 28.5% which most likely contributes to that type of accidents with cycle rickshaws. In case of multiple vehicle crashes, the majority involved crashes with big vehicles like trucks. During hospital stay, three patients died from traumatic brain injury. Another study dealing with injuries from cycle rickshaw accidents was performed by Jaiswal et al. In their study, the majority of the participants were children or young adults. The majority of the injuries were soft-tissue injuries mostly due to the chain and the rear sprocket, but a number of fractures were also described. In summary, the authors described injuries related to rickshaws comparable to those of bicycles. The majority of patients travelled on rickshaws in a dangerous way, which also included overloaded rickshaws. The authors concluded that most of the rickshaw related injuries are preventable by restricting the number of persons travelling on cycle rickshaws and application of chain covers on new rickshaws. Another form of transport, which is popular in Asia including India, is the motorized rickshaw. Although, these vehicles reach higher traffic speeds, motorized rickshaws may serve to compare injury patterns and characteristics to those of cycle rickshaws. A study of Schmucker et al. analyzed these items in a prospective trial. In total, 60% of the reported accidents led to injuries of the rickshaw occupant. Of these the investigators were able to recruit a total of 139 patients including 82 injured motorized rickshaw occupants. Of these patients, 50% had multiple injuries and there was an alarming mortality of 12.2% in that group. This data demonstrates the need of further research to improve traffic safety in these road traffic users. To compare data of the mentioned studies to other countries, further studies are required, which also include the preclinical management. Particularly, the organization preclinical emergency medicine has to be described and should be analyzed. Based on these data including multivariate analyses, an international comparison to bicycle or motorcycle accidents might be supposable. Possibly, some implemented safety features out of the research performed in accident research units world-wide are transferable to cycle rickshaws in order to improve the safety of this mode of transport. Language: en

Injuries associated with cycle rickshaws accidents

Context:Cycle rickshaw is an important means of transportation in Urban India. Pedestrians, rickshaw users, rickshaw pullers, two wheeled vehicle users and cyclists are among the most vulnerable road user groups in terms of injuries and fatalities resulting from road traffic accidents in India. Our objectives were to study characteristics of crashes and nature of injuries associated with cycle rickshaw.Patients and Methods:Between August 2008 to July 2009, a hospital based observational study was done of patients who presented to King George medical college trauma center with injury sustained due to cycle rickshaw in emergency department. Age, time of trauma, mode of trauma, contributing factors and type of injury were recorded.Results:The mean age of the patient was 32.1. Seventeen patients were rickshaw pullers and the rest were occupants of the rickshaw. Overloading with more than two passengers was found in 24 cases (28.5%). Most common cause of injury was collision with a moving vehicle (56 patients, %) followed by fall from rickshaw. The most common contributing factor was the overloading of rickshaw. On arrival to the hospital, the mean Injury severity score (ISS) was 3.5 ± 2.2 and the mean Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was 13.4 ± 4.3. Nine patients were admitted to ICU (Intensive care unit). The median ICU stay was 4 (1-24 days). Six of the ICU admitted patients had head injury.Conclusion:Rickshaw pullers and occupants are vulnerable to road traffic accidents. Urgent preventive measures targeted towards this group are needed to reduce the morbidity and mortality resulting from injuries involving rickshaws. The need for improved understanding of the risk characteristics of cycle rickshaw is emphasized.

A Journey with Cycle Rickshaws

I met a cycle rickshaw puller whom I had known for a few years and asked my old question, “Why do you not look for a better job instead of pulling a cycle rickshaw?” He asked me if I was free to have a chat with him in a nearby park.1 After settling down he said, “You have been asking the same question for many years, but you never asked us a question which mattered to us the most. Th e questions that you raised refl ected a limited perspective and did not provide us a scope to place our perspective. I would like to explain this to you.”

A Delphi Study of the Vehicular Emissions Control Strategies for the Capital City Delhi

In present work a Delphi study was commissioned to obtain the feedback and suggestions of the experts, having technical backgrounds, such as industrial, scientific, transport administration, engineering academics and engineering studies. The questionnaire was designed including a wide spectrum of different modes of transportation, beginning with bicycles and cycle rickshaws, encompassing all the prevalent modes of automobiles being used and including up to electric and solar powered vehicles. The collected data was analysed using the MATLAB software and the results have been used to estimate and then propose future emission modification factors. It is found that a large majority of experts were in favour of improving and subsidizing the public transportation system, enhancing the traffic management and accelerating the infra-structure projects. The preferences of the experts were given due consideration while proposing the future emission control strategies and making the estimates of the vehicle emissions in the next chapter.

Is There a Future for Non-Motorized Public Transport in Asia?

Non-motorized public transport (NMPT), especially three-wheeler cycle rickshaws, has a long history in East Asia; and has long been a major transport planning issue. Policy measures to restrict or eliminate NMPT have already been implemented in many developing cities with mixed success. However given the economic, social and cultural significance of NMPT, its environmental benefits, and the magnitude of its role in sustaining the mobility needs of citizens, it is timely to reconsider the future role of NMPT. Rather than pursuing policies to eliminate NMPT, a better approach may be to integrate motorized and non-motorized vehicles as complementary rather than competitive forces. With this backdrop and given the international significance of the problem, this paper examines the current role and significance of NMPT using Dhaka as a case study, and sets a research agenda for the future of NMPT in a sustainable transport system.

Anthropometric characteristics of Indian cycle rickshaw pullers.

In India, about 0.86 million people is engaged in pulling cycle rickshaws as occupation. There is no anthropometric data of cycle rickshaw pullers although data is available for Indian population. The objective of the study was to collect anthropometric data of the cycle rickshaw pullers so that these could be utilized for redesigning a cycle rickshaw. Anthropometric data for 34 body measurements were recorded from 880 rickshaw pullers (age 18 to 66 years) of four different places in India. The mean values of different standing heights, different lengths and breadths of cycle rickshaw pullers were significantly lower compared with Indian population. However, there was no significant difference in erect sitting height. The outcome of the research project is beneficial for the manufacturers of cycle rickshaws and similar products well as users of such products, including rickshaw pullers. The manufacturers would be able to use the data for fabricating newer models of cycle rickshaws which would be more compatible for rickshaw pullers as well as passengers.

Electric motor-assisted pedal-driven tricycle

Tricycles or cycle rickshaws are driven by manual pedalling, which is a very strenuous job for rickshaw pullers. On the other hand, auto rickshaws are driven by fossil fuel, which produces too much environmental pollution, especially in the busiest streets of a city, where the average running speed cannot be more than 15 km hr−1. The electric three-wheelers, which contribute less towards air pollution, are completely driven by electric motors and require a large-capacity motor and battery. The drive system of these electric vehicles in general is very complicated, as it includes a heavyweight Permanent Magnet Direct Current (PMDC) motor, gearbox, gear-changing mechanism, clutch and others. Considering the above facts, a novel three-wheeled vehicle or pedicab was developed at Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur, India. It is lightweight and can be driven manually with the assistance of an electric motor. It is called the electric motor-assisted pedal-driven tricycle. The combination of pedal and electric motor reduces the drudgery of rickshaw pullers as well as minimises the utilisation of electric energy. Also, due to simultaneous utilisation of electric and manual power, this tricycle produces almost zero greenhouse gases and thus it may be considered one of the future green vehicles, suitable for short-distance transport.