Rickshaw Drivers

Dhaka is the capital city of the the rickshaws – they are just everywhere. More than 400,000 rickshaws, traditional or motor-powered, run each day in the streets of Dhaka.

A traditional rickshaw is a cart pulled by a human, mostly a bicycle with two wheels in the back. Over the wheels, passenger seats or flatbeds for transport of goods are placed. The cart is pulled by a human rickshaw-driver, a proficient cyclist. Some of the traditional rickshaws have a little auxiliary motor, saving the driver's energy. Rickshaws are usually richly and colourfully decorated. A rickshaw can transport up to 3 passengers, a pile of barrels, a stack of steel sheets, a sofa with two armchairs, a calf etc. Auto rickshaws, also called CNGs due to their fuel source, are the most “sophisticated“ ones. All CNGs are painted green and, as a means of  public transport, intended only for passenger transportation. The drivers are very skilled and riding a CNG gives you an experience for a lifetime.

The life of a rickshaw-driver is not easy. Most of them are very poor and uneducated. Their rickshaws enable them to enter the labour market and receive at least some income. Hard work, long hours of stress, heat and polluted streets often cause health complications. Malnutrition is also a common phenomenon. Yet despite all that, rickshaw‑drivers always smile and consider it an honour to accompany you on your way.