Phasing rickshaws off Dhaka streets

This yet another piece in a series of traffic management articles that I began last week. The ideas presented are particularly designed and thought out with the streets of my hometown Dhaka in mind. The ideas can just as easily be replicated in all the other cities and towns across Bangladesh.

Traffic Management: Lesson 5: No traffic management essay would be complete without some thought and a proposal for a solution that attempts to tackle the rickshaw issue.

The rickshaw issue has many facets to it, least of which is that it is a public service that is in great demand since the other public service options are limited at best and thoroughly unreliable.


Rickshaws pose a political solution because it ensures that millions of otherwise unskilled men have a job to fall back on. These men would otherwise remain unable to earn a living or pay for the upkeep of their families. If these men were suddenly unemployed, it would put the government on the back foot to try and find so many millions of people a steady income. This way at least a few million people can make an honest living no matter that the cost comes through their health.

Which lands me right into another facet of the rickshaw dilemma - rickshaws pose a human rights problem; considering that the rickshaw puller is essentially relegated to the role of a beast of burden to fulfil a public service. Of course he is not doing it to perform a public service but because he efforts pay him a small dividend that he would otherwise be without.

Poverty has never been a pretty picture but when you see that the kind of indignities one has to undergo to somehow make ends meet the picture grows even grimmer.

So on the face of it, rickshaws are a necessary evil unless the human equation can be settled and an alternative public transport option presented. Face it, it is easier to demand that rickshaws be taken off the streets of Dhaka than to actually find a solution that works. In my opinion no man would continue to pull a rickshaw if he had an alternative and regular income stream.

Solving the rickshaw problem and getting the streets of the capital rickshaw free is a long term solution. And as with every long term proposal, the trick to its success is actually starting on the road.

Rickshaws cannot be taken off the streets of Dhaka next year or the year after that – a change has to come over the next 10 years. Perhaps Dhaka can only be completely rickshaw free by 2025, provided the steps are taken by next year or, latest, by the year after that.

First step is to declare that rickshaws will be banned on the streets of Dhaka by 2025. This gives people who are already in the profession that they are not being evicted off the streets immediately and poses some sort of respite. This also lets people who are considering entering the profession a time frame and a opportunity for conscious decision as to whether they should get in – of course this is more pertinent and real to people in 2020 than it is for those in 2012.

However, having said that, one cannot dictate rickshaws off the streets of Dhaka without planning for an alternative. This alternative can be in the forms of more infrastructure jobs across the nation (the country is in dire need of highways linking cities and better road networks) as well as the development of the other cities in the country that will invite people to live outside Dhaka or be an alternative option for people to consider when they imagine living in a city.

Given the necessary training the unemployed Dhaka rickshaw puller can enlist in these infrastructure jobs as a construction worker, or operate his rickshaw in a city that has not outlawed the rickshaw... yet.

That other cities do not inherit Dhaka's traffic problems with the infestation of rickshaws that move out of Dhaka is where Lesson 5: Zoning by colour comes in.

For Dhaka to prepare a master plan to ease out rickshaws from the city as well as address human rights concerns the solution should be three pronged: 1) consolidation, and registration of the existing rickshaw population (to set a firm but realistic reduction plan), 2) zoning and colour-coding the city into five/six zones in which only corresponding colour-coded rickshaws would operate, and 3)licensing pullers (to train in traffic rules and to subsequently train over the years in select vocational skills).

It cannot be stressed enough that to do this it would need incredible government commitment and a strict adherence to agreed upon timelines.

I feel that my idea with zoning deserves a little elaboration: all zones are to be priced according to size and/or average trip lengths. Any destination within that zone has one set rate. However, if one was to travel across zones, it can only be through select 'mating' points where rickshaws can be parked and the rider would have to switch to a rickshaw for the corresponding zone. This way a rider will know how much the fare will be based on his/her present location and where he/she wants to be. The puller on the other hand is not subject to longer distances and is amply compensated without worry of haggling.

Furthermore, rickshaws cannot move at any time without a passenger, which will ensure optimal use of rickshaws because then the puller has no choice but to carry a passenger – but then he will only have an income as long as he has a passenger.

During rush hour, fares are doubled so the passenger have a choice to share the fare with another commuter or choose to pay the double fare. Again no rickshaws will be allowed to ply without a passenger.

But how is this policed? Simple the onus is on the passenger. If a police identifies a rickshaw plying in the wrong zone, the passenger is not only offloaded but also fined for the offence; the rickshaw is confiscated for the rest of the day (the puller is not fined, but his loss of income would be deterrent enough). Similarly if a rickshaw is seen plying without a passenger the rickshaw is confiscated for the rest of the day (but the puller cannot be fined).

Too simplistic? You have a better idea? Write in and let's see if we can solve this together.