Eco ricks give cabs a run for their money in Chandigarh

Not a horse, but a human pulling a two-wheeled slow carriage vehicle on road was how a rickshaw looked like way back in 1880 when it was first introduced in India in hill state Shimla.

More than a century later, the rickshaw, in its present form, with three wheels just got more friendly, accessible and “tech-savvy”. It’s back in vogue, in style that makes it perhaps no less irresistible in French architect Le Corbusier-designed Chandigarh. The city is the first place where residents can now dial-a-rickshaw, just like the dial-a-cab facility. Within minutes, it’s at your service, right at your doorsteps. It’s a unique concept which is more than just a dial-up option.

For the mistaken ones, the rickshaws ferry more passengers than cars and its count far outnumbering the motorised vehicles. Take for instance Punjab, where there are an estimated 2.6 lakh cars and 3 lakh rickshaws. Data on daily occupancy rate of cars vs the human-paddled rickshaw suggests that three-wheelers ferry 60 lakh people daily compared to just about 4 lakh people who commute by four-wheelers.

From the erstwhile days of the British Raj, when the rickshaw was more an elite mode that assuaged the Englishmen “Bara Sahib” tall ego, the rickshaw is now seen more as an “aam aadmi savari”. But in Chandigarh, the dial-a-rickshaw fad is getting increasingly popular, even with the moneyed people.

The entire concept around which this facility revolves has a philanthropic twist as well, which to many, is the better part. All the registrations for rickshaws have been carried purely on the recommendation of city residents.

Here’s how it works? Just identify a rickshawallah-- say the migrant who parks himself each day under the fading shade of a tree somewhere close to a posh locality hoping to earn a living by sweating it out in sweltering heat and chilly winter months-- and seek his
willingness to begin with. Next, click his picture and details, including his mobile number, and upload it at the community portal that has been designed for eco-cabs. Fifteen minutes of training on basic courtesies is extended to all rickshaw pullers by a team and that too on the phone. That’s it. Next time anyone looking for a rickshaw in a given sector would simply have to dial the number.

Navdeep Asija, an IIT Delhi graduate and the man behind the eco-cabs conc­e­pt, told Deccan Herald :“From budget airlines to express trains, metro rails, low floor buses, on-call taxis and auto rickshaws, we are almost always on the go, counting time as money and spending money on fuel. In this race against time, the humble cycle rickshaw lies ignored as nothing much has been done to streamline this service. But despite this indifference, these low cost-vehicles still carry a large share of urban mobility”.

“We have now developed a website (www.chandigarh.ecocabs.org) with Google maps pin-pointing the location of rickshaw stands in each sector and cell phone numbers of rickshaw pullers. It's a community-run portal where any user can refer a rickshaw puller by uploading his picture, contact details and location,” Asija said.

An Android-based application for mobile phone users which can be used both for adding details of rickshaw puller as well as for searching a rickshaw near your location has also been developed and is being used. Soon, users would be able to use the service through SMS notification. The “good etiquette” training of registered rickshaw pullers is also being done collectively at night shelters, he said.

While many of the registered rickshaws are still the traditional heavy weight designs, some eco-cabs have designs meant for the comfort of both the puller and the customer.
Navdeep said traditional rickshaws are heavy, have less sitting space and chance of breakdown and accidents are more as the canopy is not always open and wheels are on the outer side. “The eco-cabs are light weight, will increase sitting space and cushion. It will be low floor for easy access to senior citizens and children.

A seat belt, dustbin, newspaper, tourist map and FM radio will be added features eventually,” he said.

Traditional rickshaws use mango wood which is heavy and deteriorates with time. New eco cabs are made of steel-pipe which helped reduce the weight by 35 kg, Asija said.
Based on data tabulated, Navdeep Asija said there are around 25,000 rickshaws running on city roads transporting 20 passengers each and hence saving 75,000 litres of fuel daily.

So what is the next level? Navdeep says the plan in Chandigarh is to introduce “Rapid Rickshaw Transit”, a fixed tariff rickshaw between the Sukhna Lake and the Rock Garden, the two tourist hotspots of the city. It is a concept in line with the Bus Rapid Transit, he explained.