Riding in a Cyclerickshaw
Cyclerickshaws are one of the modes of transport in Lucknow.
You can’t be very finicky about transport here because the public transportation system is so bad. Public buses were introduced a year ago and are still infrequent. There are no bus stops, so to board a bus you just wave your hand when you see one approaching and the driver stops just enough for you to hop in. Similarly to get off you yell at the driver to stop and jump off when he slows down.
Then there are the ‘vikrams’, basically motorised three wheelers that pack humans in like sardines. The Sumo SUV jeeps are even worse in this regard. You can barely breathe in one, let alone move. The stench of human sweat is nauseating.
There are ‘share’ autorickshaws, but these ply only on the major routes. So, despite personal misgivings and morals, you cannot afford to be too choosy about your transport. It is mix and match that gets you from point A to point B.
I first encountered the cyclerickshaws and felt a personal aversion to riding in one. A cyclerickshaw is basically a three wheeled contraption which resembles a bicycle with a large carriage at the back to carry people. The rickshaw is peddled by the driver who is thin and emaciated from the physical toil. There are thousands of cyclerickshaws on Lucknow’s streets.
Now this is the problem I had: There was an odd sense of guilt in riding one. The rickshaw driver cycles all day and late into the night in all seasons. And in Lucknow the seasons can get pretty extreme with brutal bone jarring summers and frigid mind numbing winters. Moreover, the rickshaw driver gets paid pittance for the amount of physical work he does. One rickshawallah told me he earns Rs 100 a day.
I am not being overly moralistic. I can’t afford to because I don’t have the complete picture yet. But the issue of human dignity keeps cropping up in my mind. Riding on someone else’s toil, sweat and, dare I say it, tears. But as I said I don’t have much choice, so I end up rickshawing quite a bit.
Before getting onto a rickshaw, I negotiate with the driver, which basically means haggling over the price. When he demands 10 Rs I am willing to pay 8 and when he pleads for 6 I say 4. The price fixing is not in his favour because there are so many of them willing to undercut each other. If this on demands 2 rs more there is always the next one eagerly waiting to poach customers.
The rickshawallahs have little bargaining power. They know it, I know it and they know I know it. People like me ride these rickshaws and haggle for every rupee like this is our last ride. And yet, when we walk into a store, showroom or mall, like the ones that increasingly dot the urban Indian landscape, we look at the ‘Fixed Price’ notice on the saffron walls and pay up without questioning.
That then is the dichotomy.
[…] Speaking of politeness, hospitality…the city that comes to mind is Lucknow. Lucknow is synonymous and well-known for its leggedary hospitality. Lucknow is the capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and is a city steeped in history, culture and food. Raj, who grew up in Lucknow is happy to discover that the good folks at Google Earth finally added his hometown of Lucknow. Raj has a nice write-up and some shots of Lucknow. Sayantani Dasgupta writes in her blog on how excited she is to visit Lucknow, which is a city that has figured quite a bit in her research studies. Sayantani shares some tips on Lucknow that she got from Mayuri who writes: ” Food is religion, and kababs its elixir.” Sayantani also has some pictures of Lucknow, and of course, there are a couple of food pictures. Read on to discover what else you can learn about Lucknow. Ateesh has a long, reflective post about Lucknow. And if you are in Lucknow, what is the favorite mode of transportation? The cycle rickshaw. And here is Tushar of India Unplugged’s post on rickshaws in Lucknow. […]
Hello
I have read your post about cycle rickshaws. This gives me the impression that there a a lot more of them than autorickshaws in Indian cities. I am interested in this question because I am writing an English course for French students, who don’t have any idea of what a rickshaw is, and they have a text mentionning them in Mumbai, but no picture of them (and it’s not translatable in French either). The text tells about noise and pollution, of course it is about autorickshaws then. But I would like the students know about the two kinds of rickshaws : the one with a motor and the one with a man pedalling.
Do you have photographs of rickshaws ? I could reprint them in my course and have them comment on the two pictures. And as my document seems to imply that there are no public transports like buses enven in large cities, could you tell me if this is true ? We always give our students a biased picture of India, with saris, gurus,rickshaws (!) children
begging on the street, sacred cows (forgive the order). I’d like to show a picture of a bus, too…
Hi Francois,
I will trya and get pictures of a cycle rickshaw and autorickshaw. Meanwhile you could try and search on google images. I am sure you’ll find them there. About public transport, cities do have public transport like busses and trains. Bombay, the city where I live has a very efficient network of busses and trains.
hello, i frances, i read ur artical about the “cyclerickshaw”.its very good and it reflects the real condition of cyclerickshaw… by the way m also doing a king a report presentation about this cycle rickshaw can u help me.. my email id i have given u.. i would be thankfull of urs if u help me in this..
hemant