<i>When rickshaw becomes threat to shiny saloon</i>
The notorious jagged piece of metal sticking out of a rickshaw wheel.Photo: STAR
Rickshaw, maybe a favourite form of transport, but has a few notoriety.
The lack of any suspension in its tires makes sure that every pothole, bump or speed breaker in the streets will be felt.
The foldable hood placed at the back of its seat for bad weather conditions can barely protect the passengers from rain. The puller, upon request, will hand over a small waterproof piece of rexine sheet that can be used to keep one's feet dry.
Passengers need to know exactly where they are heading and how far they would have to go, because the pullers can and will overcharge. The pullers believe that road rules do not apply to them and swerve to any direction whenever the fancy takes them, without concern for safety.
However, out of all, the most notorious feature of this environment-friendly tricycle, made of beaten tin, is the jagged metal protruding from the axle of its rear two wheels.
Any motorist's worst nightmare would be to look down and see a rickshaw's iron mudguard digging itself into the door of his shiny saloon, leaving a long, nasty gash in the car's paintwork.
"Rickshaws are probably the biggest threat to any car on Dhaka's streets," said Moazzem Hossain, a chauffeur from Jhigatola. "As drivers, we have to be mindful about rickshaws, or more clearly, that piece of jagged metal sticking out their axles".
Rickshaws' antiquated, inconvenient structure also makes them prime cause of traffic jams.
"Most of the unwarranted tailbacks are caused by rickshaws. They bump into cars, or other rickshaws and create commotions in the middle of the street," said Kashem, a traffic sergeant at Karwan Bazar.
"They [rickshaws] often bump into each other by putting that metal tip coming out of their wheels into the wheels of other rickshaws. Sometimes it takes a long while before they can untangle the mess stopping a long traffic behind," he said.
"This kind of nuisance in the middle of a busy street can make annoying tailbacks especially during the traffic rush hours," he said.
"Rickshaws are a part and parcel of Dhaka streets and its culture”, said Robert Louis, a visitor from London.
"So I doubt it would be possible to completely remove them from operating in city streets. But it would be beneficial to modify their designs in a such a way that they would pose less threats to other vehicles around them," he said.
Over the years, different authorities have come up with fresh, innovative ideas to make the city's traditional tricycle into a more street friendly and convenient mode of transport.
One of the most notable of the ideas was the plan to modify the design of city rickshaws to prevent them from scratching other vehicles on the streets.
In 2003, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) went for implementing the decision to remove illegal bumpers from private cars. Rickshaws at that time were widely cited as the prime reason for compelling vehicle owners to fit the illegal additional bumpers in order to prevent damage to their cars.
"The idea was to attach rubber fixtures to the areas of the rickshaws which are usually responsible for scratching and damaging other vehicles," said an official at the traffic department of DMP.
According to the DMP, the jagged metal protruding from the axle of the rear two wheels of the rickshaws are mainly to blame for damage to the surface of cars and other small vehicles.
"In fact, we started to fit 'rubber-sockets' over these jagged bits of metal hoping the new fittings will reduce the chance of scratches on the vehicles," said the official.
"We used a number of different variations of rubber-sockets, but finally decided to use the most cost effective ones for the rickshaw owners," he said.
According to him, the authorities decided to fix a rubber-socket that cost around Tk 22. Therefore, a rickshaw-owner would have to spend Tk 44 for the pair of wheels.
However, the scheme never saw implementation due to difference in opinions among the rickshaw owners' associations and the police authorities, sources said.
"Before finalising the decision, we consulted with the Rickshaw Owners Associations. And most of the owners did not accept the idea," said a DMP official.
Apparently, most rickshaw owners opposed the idea saying that it would be 'loss-making' to spend money on an 'useless' piece of accessory.
"Overall, although the concept was novel and seemed quite convenient, it would not have been easy to execute. So, the scheme was discontinued later," the official added.
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