An auto rickshaw or tuk tuk (auto, autorick or rickshaw in popular parlance) is a motorised vehicle that is one of the chief modes of transport across many parts of South and East Asia …
Autorickshaws must be from Venus. They behave pretty much like women anyway. Listed below are a few comparisons. I am sure people more observant and imaginative than I am, will come up with more.
Policemen on duty at the Park Circus seven-point crossing on Thursday morning had a tough time tackling LPG autorickshaw operators who blocked the crossing, placing their vehicles in a row. The protest was prompted by the irregular supply of LPG in fuel stations, for which the the operators incur loss of time and money.
The dearth of supply has also led to rampant use of subsidised domestic LPG in auto-rickshaws.In accordance with the Calcutta High Court order, no two-stroke, non-LPG auto can ply in the city. Accordingly, the state government formulated a package which offered Rs 10,000 discounts on the price of the autos.
The Karnataka on Tuesday said a subsidy of Rs. 10,000 will be offered to autorickshaw owners for replacement of their two-stroke autorickshaws with four-stroke engines. All new autorickshaws having four-stroke engines in the State will be registered from now onwards.
Green autos are fitted with four stroke engines and run on LPG.A total of 800 green autorickshaws have been registered in the city so far.
It was just another hot day in Jaipur when Harish, an autorickshaw driver, sees Whitney, a University of Chicago student, in the distance and was awestruck. He asks her out for a cup of tea and she says no. He asks again, and she says no again. But Harish’s persistence pays off, by the fourth time she comes around and they both grab a cup of tea. He shows her around Jaipur and, at the end of the day, he proposes to her. She accepts.
Motoring through crowded streets in auto rickshaws (aka tuk tuks), is my favorite mode of transportation in India. They are loud. They are subject to the wind and rain. They miraculously come within millimeters of pedestrians, cows, scooters, bikes, and other auto rickshaws. And they are fun as hell.
The three-wheeled vehicles are covered but door-less. With a two-stroke engine and handlebar controls, it’s similar to a ride at Disneyland, albeit without the circular track to nowhere. Unlike a sanitized, elevated ride in an air-conditioned four-wheel drive tourist vehicle, tuk tuks are the best mode of transport for a close-up look at daily life. You’ll whiz past vegetable markets and get a whiff of ripe bananas, hear locals haggle over goods, and get a birds eye view of monkey shenanigans on the roadside.
An autorickshaw driver who gives free rides to the blind, donates money to an old age home and is trying to raise funds for the treatment of a sandwich vendor.
Sandeep Bachhe is an autorickshaw driver in Mumbai. More of him later, but first let me take you through his wonder autorickshaw. It has a television set tuned to good old Doordarshan — which incidentally is celebrating 50 years of transmission in India. Then there is also a board with the day’s price of gold, silver, dollar, pound and the yen.
Behind the driver’s seat hangs another chart with phone numbers of hospitals, theatres, hotels and airlines. You can also pick up the day’s papers and a couple of magazines in the rack behind him. ‘Do not spit,’ another notice admonishes you. There are pictures of Gods from all major religions. “All are welcome,” he says with a smile.
“I have been driving an autorickshaw for ten years. Whatever money I make I first give my family. The little that can spare, I give it to an old age home. During the beginning of the academic year for schools, we try and distribute notebooks to needy students.”
Mumbai autorickshaws are called `ricksha’ by the local commuters.
