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Rickshaws- The future of transport in cities?

DeletedUser

A rickshaw is a pedicab. Just to clarify... :)

[spoil]THIS ladies and gents is a pedicab/rickshaw-
pedicab_classic_03.jpg

[/spoil]

Where i'm from, the Rickshaw is not really that common at all.
We have just 5 in my city and I own them all!
Due to council restrictions we have to operate as private hire only which has actually turned out to be a bit of a blessing!

So i've been thinking about rickshaws and the more that i've thought about it the more that they make sense... You can do absolutely anything with a rickshaw, from the standard passenger carrying ones and delivery trikes to the slightly more fun coffee rickshaws, i even know a lady who loads hers up with fresh fruit and veg and makes $200 a day selling it from the street.

So, why do i think that they are the future of transport in cities?

1- They are environmentally friendly. This is possibly their biggest selling point... No fumes at all other then those that come out the the rider. Cities that are trying to cut back on their emissions will soon resort to doing what London has basically done, banning vans and other things from the city centre during the day. This will move to other cities and soon i believe that there will be very few environmentally ways to move goods about, when that happens, the rickshaw owners will step in and offer their services.

2- They are great fun! You arrive in a city. There in front of you are a fleet of cabs, next to them are some funny looking, 3 wheeled bikes. Its a nice day and you're only going into town... (The 5 minute drive is the cab driver's worst nightmare! They would rather you took a rickshaw tbh. ) so what do you choose? Most would go for the rickshaw.

3- They are almost always going to be cheaper. One of the deliveries that i do, i'm saving the company 2000 on what they used to spend when using a van!

At the moment there are too many restrictions in place to make the local councils money, for example i need to spend 500 to get a licence to hand out flyers in my city!! However these will have to be removed soon enough, and when they are, i'll be waiting. Mwhaha.

So i guess what i wanted people to debate is whether they agree with me! Do you think that rickshaws will take over cities centres? If so, do you agree with my reasons? If not, why not? Do you think that buses, vans and cabs will continue to own the cities or will some other form of transport (other then walking!) pick up?

N
 
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DeletedUser34

hmmmmm Narwhal...LOL....the .us part of the URL should let you know most of us might not know what a rickshaw is :p
 

DeletedUser

That is totally untrue!
American cities are FULL of rickshaws! Pedicabs...? Same thing. :)
 

DeletedUser34

[Spoil]thank you, i could have looked it up, but you did a fine job. I will read your thread properly now and edit this to reply[/Spoil]

They must be disabled.
 
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DeletedUser

SEE! They don't work! And yet Hell used one... No idea what the code for it could be though. :(

Awesome :D
 

DeletedUser

narwhal said:
A rickshaw is a pedicab. Just to clarify... :)


You can do absolutely anything with a rickshaw,
N
Click to expand...

2ni5hqd.jpg


Except maybe drive in that. Or worse. Imagine the temperature at -40C and the wind blowing.
 

DeletedUser46

PErsonally, I think that they are a good idea.
But, someone must play devil's advocate:
Rickshaws will ultimately lead to forced labor, which is generally considered a bad thing (a separate debate). This is because, as time goes on, people will began selling themselves to run the rickshaws, simply to make money, as one would expect from any person in such a position. Then, people will began organizing these runners of rickshaws (I will truncate this to "runners" for purposes of this discussion) into groups. Then, they will pool all of the money into one place and centralize all financial things, in order to simplify the process, much like a regular business. Then, they will provide lodging and meals for the people running the rickshaws, as anyone who runs rickshaws probably isn't going to be as capable of handling their money (I do not wish to demean anyone, this is simply a statement of approximate fact useful for purposes of playing devil's advocate), and not bother giving the runners significant amounts of money. Next, they will not receive any money because they do not need it and they aren't able to form a union for whatever reason. Now, we are at slavery.

Also: The 10 pages rule: is it 50, 100, 200, 300, or 400 replies?
 

DeletedUser

Thanks for giving me someone to argue debate with :)
I am not sure what sort of business model that is!
The was i do things is that i own 5 rickshaws. We get a job and i assign riders to that job (well, they volunteer to do it). The business takes X and the rider take Y (usually a set rate /hour).

If we were to get a whole lot more deliveries, i would simply have more jobs for my riders.
We do not lodge them as they are all locally based... the money is pooled as it is a business, i pay the riders for their work.
I get what you are saying but you are assuming that the whole thing would start with no infrastructure in place, that it would simply be a group of people with rickshaws and not that usually there is 1 owner of those rickshaws who either leases them out to these people or who simply gives these people work.
 
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DeletedUser

JKP3nt said:
PErsonally, I think that they are a good idea.
But, someone must play devil's advocate:
Rickshaws will ultimately lead to forced labor, which is generally considered a bad thing (a separate debate). This is because, as time goes on, people will began selling themselves to run the rickshaws, simply to make money, as one would expect from any person in such a position. Then, people will began organizing these runners of rickshaws (I will truncate this to "runners" for purposes of this discussion) into groups. Then, they will pool all of the money into one place and centralize all financial things, in order to simplify the process, much like a regular business. Then, they will provide lodging and meals for the people running the rickshaws, as anyone who runs rickshaws probably isn't going to be as capable of handling their money (I do not wish to demean anyone, this is simply a statement of approximate fact useful for purposes of playing devil's advocate), and not bother giving the runners significant amounts of money. Next, they will not receive any money because they do not need it and they aren't able to form a union for whatever reason. Now, we are at slavery.
Click to expand...
I'm not entirely sure of what you're trying to argue.
That's illegal in most civilized countries.
 

DeletedUser

It seemed that he was suggesting some sort of communist business (which is in itself a bit of an oxymoron) whereby all of the money was pooled, the housing shared and meals given in exchange for work. It also reminds me of one of Hitler's work programmes that came up in an exam I just did. The nazis provided work, housing and a little 'pocket money' in exchange for men signing up to work programmes, this is how many of the first autobarns were built.
OT but interesting nontheless. :)
 

DeletedUser

narwhal said:
It seemed that he was suggesting some sort of communist business (which is in itself a bit of an oxymoron) whereby all of the money was pooled, the housing shared and meals given in exchange for work. It also reminds me of one of Hitler's work programmes that came up in an exam I just did. The nazis provided work, housing and a little 'pocket money' in exchange for men signing up to work programmes, this is how many of the first autobarns were built.
OT but interesting nontheless. :)
Click to expand...

I get what he is saying, but what is the reasoning behind it. This didn't happen in the Taxi Industry.
 

DeletedUser

No it did not! haha, well, we'll have to wait for him to explain i guess :hmph:
 

DeletedUser

Add the fact that "it is good for the environment" looks good on paper but how much do people really care? lol let me share a little conversation I had with the VP and the legal department at work last week.

Me: The EPA found that we are bleeding mercury into the retention pond. This is then running into saux creek, and other fresh water supplies and ground water.

Them: How much to clean and fix it?

Me: $10 million and some change.

Them: How much is the fine?

Me: $5,000 a month left untreated

Them: Then what is there to talk about. Pay the fine
 

DeletedUser34

ok, I have decided not to edit as there has been more participation in this thread.

So here you go...my points:
I don't think rickshaws would be applicable in the US despite their environmental footprint, or lack there of.

In an average city in America, it is to spread out. There is no way a person could economically make it to and from work using such a mode of transportation and make it worth while. For example, In Orlando, it takes me over an hour just to drive to work. Put me in a peddle contraption and there is no way. Secondly, they don't move enough people at one time to make it economical. Even if you did use them, and I called you from Sanford, to carry me to Orlando...what are you going to do on the return trip? Not everyone goes to the same location, nor do they come from the same location. So you see, as a mass mover, it just isn't economical in any since.

If your saying to use them for the majority of private use, the same issue applies. If there is more than two people wanting to go to the store (grocery or mall or what have you) well, besides not being economical in picking everyone up, where would you put the baggage? I know I shop once a week. Unlike in the UK maybe where there is markets and you stop by once a day on your way home with a little bit at a time, that isn't how the majority of Americans do it. Maybe in cities like LA and New York where there are bodegas but even then they are usually neighborhood specific and so transportation isn't an issue. If you wanted to use them to go to a mall or walmart, well traffic in those cities would make it inevitably unsafe. And your still left with the problem that the amount of people it can move to be ineffective.

And finally, the weather and terrain. It doesn't matter where in the country you are, there is adverse weather that would make that form of transportation unmarketable, ineffective, and unfriendly. Not to mention traveling hills, mountains and over passes.

So in a sense, with the exception of short tourist routes, this idea would not make much difference in the environmental footrprint of the US.
 

DeletedUser

Agreed 100 percent.... For the novelty of it, I would do it like a horse and buggy ride. I would not be thinking of it as how it is helping the environment. To get from point A to Point B, Chicago has to many other options like the "L" train or buses. They are much quicker and in a big city it is all about a fast pace (save for southern cities that are more relaxed). As for a way of moving goods, there might be a small market for a local business that does not need a lot. It just seems they would already have a van in place. Anything bigger or for a business that is using a loading dock, it just does not seem practical.

Don't get me wrong. I kinda like the novelty aspect of it. If you can find other ways to expand it, then go for it. I just do not see it replacing anything, anytime soon. It is kinda like the electric car. Ok cool, but will it pull my boat? When I plan on going any great distance (75 plus miles round trip), I am stuck sitting some place for hours to let the batteries recharge. It is a nice idea for the person who does not use their vehicle to haul anything. Drive anywhere other then in town. I do not know many people like this. Gas engines will be around for a very long time.
 

DeletedUser34

Not even in the south. Don't mistake southern charm for a slower pace...take a look at Atlanta....if they were to replace the Metro with a system of rickshaws, the city would DIE
 

DeletedUser

I'll reply to all the points soon, not right not as i don't have a lot of time, but something else to think about is that there are near a 1000 rickshaws in NYC so it must have some appeal as they are not only functioning off of tourists.

(i'll post a longer response later :))
 
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