KARACHI: Rickshaw may take too long to exit from city
By Naseer Ahmad
KARACHI, Sept 14: Efforts to eliminate the autorickshaw from Karachi scene have not yet borne fruit. The pressure on the vehicle to get out of the way of others, bigger and glamorous, appears to have eased. Individuals and groups clamouring to see it off the roads have also relented.
The reason for this is that the three-wheeler, pressed from all sides, has improved its behaviour a little. It is now less noisy and no longer as smoky as before. This should partly satisfy environmental activists’ demand to muzzle it.
To reduce its unbearable noise the authorities seem to have begun implementing in earnest the rules meant to rein it in. A new silencer has been introduced to control its ear-splitting din. But many operators still resist its installation. They argue that the several mufflers in the new silencer overly heat up the vehicle, increase fuel consumption and slow down the speed. They have, however, replaced the earlier netting with a single muffler, or disc, which slightly reduces the noise level.
A CNG-run rickshaw, imported from China, has also landed in the city, but may take time to launch after clearing many bureaucratic hurdles.
One cause for the rickshaw’s lower level of smoke is its switchover to the liquid petroleum gas from petrol. Now it carries a small, four-kilogram, container for the LPG. A majority of rickshaws already have the gas kits. The rest might also go for the alternative and cost-effective system. The kit costs Rs5,000 to Rs6,000 apiece, a marked drop from the earlier Rs10,000. The gas may be more harmful otherwise, but it produces less smoke besides saving on fuel.
The city streets are growingly getting choked. In the thick snarls-up the rickshaw often pokes its nose and whizzes through small recesses.
Another factor that prolongs its life in the city is women running errands for their households. They find it safer than the cab when travelling alone.
A ban on import of rickshaws had been mooted earlier. But the ban too would have been no problem. The local fiend manufactures each and every part of it cheaply, keeping it alive and kicking.
On the negative side, it charges as much as the taxicab. Although there is a difference of rates between the taxi and the rickshaw, people having travelled in both modes insist that the charges at a longer distance go up to the same level. In some cases the three-wheeler might be charging higher.
The joke might have become trite now, it retains its relevance, as its goes that “if you want to reach home the fastest, sit on the rickshaw meter.” And somebody might have said that this could be the fastest means of rushing one to the hospital.
Talk to any rickshaw operator and he will admit that the meter runs faster than it should.
“Even if a driver says the five-time prayers regularly, he cannot run a rickshaw on normal rates,” says Rasheed Ahmed, a young driver waiting for passengers at the Korangi stop.
He says the drivers have so many financial obligations to fulfil that they cannot afford the fixed rates. “I pay Rs200 to the owner. The police also extort money on flimsy excuses. We have to wait for passengers for hours on end or have to ride for many kilometres without any passengers,” says Rasheed. “And I have my own family to feed also.”
People compelled to travel by rickshaw daily say it should be used only for short distances as it is highly uncomfortable. “It should be banned on roads such as Sharea Faisal,” said a commuter. “I would prefer a bus or a taxi over it.”
Graffiti on the rickshaw body is banned. Extra mirrors are banned. But they are visible on every three-wheeler. What they do is they remove things such as mirrors when they go to get the fitness certificate and reinstall them the next day.
Over the years, the rickshaw has pushed out of race the horse-driven cart. Wherever the cart could go, it goes more easily and speedily. The older version did not have the reverse gear system and the operator had to back it manually. Now, because of its convenient movement through narrow streets, the rickshaw is becoming popular even in small towns all over the country.
Its entry into Islamabad is banned. But in Hyderabad taxicabs are rare and only rickshaws are available for travel within the city.
