“Regulate number of rickshaws”

Photo: AFP

This refers to the editorial in The Daily Star on Thursday, May 22, 2008 under the title “Regulate number of rickshawsTraffic jam needs some easing.”
Firstly, the editorial assumes that rickshaws are the main cause of traffic jam in the city. Thus apparently there are three lakh rickshaws which are operating illegally, and “with the limited road network in the metropolis such a huge number of unauthorised rickshaws are obviously a major contributor to traffic chaos in the city.” This ignores the fact that rickshaws have been forbidden from the major roads of the city such as VIP road Gulshan Avenue, to name only a few, and the traffic jams persist. Given the fact, it would be more rational to regulate the number of cars, as indeed it is done in many countries including Singapore through limiting the number of licenses issued each year.
In fact, for the vast majority of commuters, restricting rickshaws from these city roads have resulted in untold hardship. Unless you own a private car, it has become extremely costly and a harassment to go to and from work or on errands, given the limited number of CNGs, or taxis, and the high prices charged. But of course this escapes the attention of the elite! As does the fact that rickshaws are now pushed into poorly maintained lanes and by lanes full of potholes, causing untold suffering to the rickshaw pullers, as well as those who ride them. The time of travel has also increased manifold. Let me give you an example. To go from Nilkhet to Dhanmondi, the rickshaws have to take a circuitous route behind New Market. The route is jam packed with rickshaws and it frequently takes more than an hour to do so. The message is clear for those who do not own cars like myself. Don't go to the richer part of the city such as Dhanmondi!
The editorial further states: “rickshaws are an outdated or inhuman mode of transport”, and “rickshaws cannot have a place in a modern scheme of urban living.” Let me remind you that bicycles are a popular mode of transport in most European cities and the city spends a lot of money for maintaining separate lanes for bicycles. So, non-mechanised vehicles are very much a part of the modern scheme of urban living. Not to mention the immense amount of energy it saves and is also pollution free. As for how humane or inhuman, unfortunately most manual labour in this country, given the very poor working conditions, has this trace of inhumanity. What should one do with construction workers for instance, with women working with very young children amidst the dust at construction sites? Or, would that jeopardize the construction of beautiful buildings by the elite? It would be much more inhuman to make three lakh rickshaw pullers jobless!
Finally, the editorial states,” the government can think of training the unskilled labour force under a special project to enhance their job worthiness in both local and international markets.” Have you considered the costs of international migration? Given the trends in terms of landlessness, can a special project address the immensity of the problem? Should not rural-urban migration be checked as a normal part of the development process, and shouldn't our efforts be directed at that?
My only word of caution is that public policy should not be based on such hasty judgements and elitist perceptions. Let's instead work towards a people-friendly transport policy.