Rickshaw

Etymology

The word rickshaw originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (人力車, 人 jin = human, 力 riki = power or force, 車 sha = vehicle), which literally means "human-powered vehicle".

Origin

Rickshaws were invented in Japan about 1869, after the lifting of a ban on wheeled vehicles from the Tokugawa period (1603–1868), and at the beginning of a rapid period of technical advancement in Japan.

Inventor

There are several theories about the inventor.

Japan historian Seidensticker wrote of the theories:

Though the origins of the rickshaw are not entirely clear, they seem to be Japanese, and of Tokyo specifically. The most widely accepted theory offers the name of three inventors, and gives 1869 as the date of invention.

Description

The vehicle had a wooden carriage that rode on "superior Western wheels" and was a dramatic improvement over earlier modes of transportation. Whereas the earlier sedan chairs required two people, the rickshaw generally only required one. More than one person was required for hilly or mountainous areas. It also provided a smoother ride for the passenger. Other forms of vehicles at the time were drawn by animals or were wheelbarrows.

The Powerhouse Museum has had a rickshaw in its collection for 120 years. It was made about 1880 and is described as:

A rickshaw, or Jinrikisha, is a light, two-wheeled cart consisting of a doorless, chairlike body, mounted on springs with a collapsible hood and two shafts. Finished in black lacquer-ware over timber, it was drawn by a single rickshaw runner.

Late 19th century

It became an inexpensive, popular mode of transportation across Asia. Peasants who migrated to large Asian cities often worked first as a rickshaw runner. It was "the deadliest occupation in the East, [and] the most degrading for human beings to pursue."

Japan

Starting in 1870, the Tokyo government issued a permit to build and sell 人力車　(jinrikisha : rickshaws in Japanese) to the trio that are believed in Asia to be the rickshaw's inventors: Izumi Yosuke, Takayama Kosuke, and Suzuki Tokujiro. In order to operate a rickshaw in Tokyo, a seal was required from these men. By 1872, they replaced the palanquins and became the main mode of transportation in Japan, with about 40,000 rickshaws in service. At that time man-power was much cheaper than horse-power; horses were generally only used by the military. Some of the rickshaws were artistically decorated with paintings and rear elevations. In this time, the more exuberant styles of decorations were banned. If the families were well-off financially they might have their own rickshaw runner. Generally, runners covered 32 to 48 kilometres (20 to 30 mi) in a day, at an average traveling speed of 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) per hour.

Japanese rickshaw manufacturers produced and exported rickshaws to Asian countries and South Africa.

Singapore

Singapore received its first rickshaws in 1880 and soon after they were prolific, making a "noticeable change in the traffic on Singapore's streets." Bullock carts and gharries were used before rickshaws were introduced.

Many of the poorest individuals in Singapore in the late nineteenth century were poverty-stricken, unskilled people of Chinese ancestry. Sometimes called coolies, the hardworking men found that pulling a rickshaw was a new opportunity for employment.

In 1897, martial law was declared to end a four-day rickshaw workers' strike.

Other

In China, the rickshaw was first seen in 1873 and was used for public transportation the following year. Within a year there were 10,000 rickshaws in operation. Around 1880 rickshaws appeared in India, first introduced in Simla by Reverend J. Fordyce. At the turn of the century they were introduced in Calcutta, India, and by 1914 were a conveyance for hire. The rickshaw was also introduced to Korea in the late 19th century.

20th century

After World War II, there was a major shift in the use of man-powered rickshaws:

Hand-pulled rickshaws became an embarrassment to modernizing urban elites in the Third World, and were widely banned, in part because they were symbolic, not of modernity, but of a feudal world of openly marked class distinctions. Perhaps the seated rickshaw passenger is too close to the back of the laboring driver, who, besides, is metaphorically a draught animal harnessed between shafts.

The cycle rickshaw was built in the 1880s and was first used with regularity starting in 1929 in Singapore. They were found in every south and east Asian country by 1950. By the late 1980s there were estimated 4 million cycle rickshaws in the world.

Africa

Rickshaws were introduced to Durban, South Africa, and by 1904 there were about 2,000 registered rickshaw pullers. Rickshaws operated in Nairobi in the beginning of the 20th century; pullers went on strike there in 1908. In the 1920s, they were used in Bagamoyo, Tanga, Tanzania and other areas of East Africa for short distances.

Asia

The rickshaw's popularity in Japan had declined by the 1930s with the advent of automated forms of transportation like automobiles and trains. After World War II, when gasoline and automobiles were scarce, they made a temporary come-back. The rickshaw tradition has stayed alive in Kyoto and Tokyo's geisha districts. In the 1990s, German-made cycle rickshaws called velotaxis were introduced in Japanese cities, including Kobe.

In China, the rickshaw's popularity began to decline in the 1920s and particularly as a mode of passenger transportation by the 1950s. A rough form of a rickshaw is sometimes used for hauling coal, building materials or other material. Both motorized and pedal-power cycle rickshaws, or pedicabs, were used for short distance passenger travel. There are still many rickshaws in many cities for either touring purposes (in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, with traditional Chinese rickshaws) or short range transportation in some counties.

In Singapore, the rickshaw's popularity increased into the 20th century. There were approximately 50,000 rickshaws in 1920 and that number had doubled by 1930. Cycle rickshaws were used in Singapore beginning in 1929. Within six years pulled rickshaws were outnumbered by cycle rickshaws, which were also used by sightseeing tourists.

In the 1930s cycle rickshaws were used in Kolkata, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. By 1950 they could be found in the countries of south and east Asia. By the end of the century there were 300,000 such vehicles in Dhaka. By the end of 2013 there were about 100,000 Electric rickshaws in Delhi.

North America

Pedicabs were introduced in North America in 1962, where they were a means of transportation at the Seattle World's Fair in the state of Washington.

21st century

The 21st century has seen a resurgence in rickshaws, this time in auto rickshaws, also called velotaxis, because they are about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of regular taxis. German velotaxis are three-wheeled, powered vehicles with a space for a driver and, behind the driver, space for two passengers. Cycle rickshaws are used in American, European, and Asian cities; They are used for their novelty value as an entertaining form of transportation.

Africa

In Madagascar pulled, cycle and auto rickshaws are a common form of transportation in a number of cities, especially Antsirabe. They are known as pousse-pousse, meaning push-push.

Asia

Automated cycle rickshaws, called velotaxis, are popular in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. Their use is growing at a rate of about 20-30% a year in Japanese cities. The traditional rickshaws are still alive for travelers in some tourist places in Japan. Rickshaws are found in Hong Kong. In China, automated and pedal-power cycle rickshaws, or pedicabs, are used for short distance passenger travel in large cities and many medium-sized cities. Most Indian cities offer auto rickshaw service; Hand-pulled rickshaws do exist in some areas, such as Kolkata (Calcutta) as a part of their transport system which also includes cycle rickshaws.

Europe

Cycle rickshaws or Trishaws (3 wheels) are used in most large continental European cities, such as:

Within the United Kingdom, pedicabs operate in:

North America

In Canada there are pedicabs in operation in Victoria and Vancouver. They are regulated in Toronto and Vancouver. Pulled rickshaws rides are available in downtown Ottawa, with tours of historical Byward Market.

In the United States, San Diego and New York City each host hundreds of pedicabs; dozens of other North American cities also have pedicab services. In New York, human powered transport is used primarily by tourists due to its cost. In New Orleans, pedicabs have been utilized to transport French Quarter tourists since the summer of 2012.

Types

Types of rickshaws include:

Additional reading