Bicycle-powered cabs similar to rickshaws could soon be legal on Bloomington’s streets, with some seeing them as a possible downtown attraction.

A city councilman has introduced an ordinance regulating the velocabs, setting rules on the type of equipment used, insurance and licensing.

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The first of the autos rolled out towards the end of 1957 under the banner of the Bachchraj Trading Corporation before the company was renamed Bajaj Auto. According to corporate lore, the term ‘autorickshaw’ was coined by N K Firodia as an improvement over the manual rickshaws in many parts of the country. The government initially licensed the company to make 1000 autos a year.

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It’s December, travelers, and that means the fourth annual Classic Run is just right around the corner. Though registration is still open, the rickshaws are being painted, the stereos are being installed, and the teams are getting ready for the adventure of a lifetime!

But why should you travel to Tamil Nadu after Christmas and spend 11 days driving 1,000 kilometers in an autorickshaw? Check out this article for a good argument, then proceed directly to the registration page to get in on the action!

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“This service is not available for government employees”, read the handbills that have been pasted on hundreds of rickshaws in Allahabad. To protest against the government’s nonchalance to their demand of special rickshaw parking zones and night shelters, around 20,000 rickshaw pullers in the city have refused to give a ride to government employees.

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17 offenders nabbed operating rickshaws without valid permits

The traffic department has finally started cracking the whip on erring auto rickshaws that overcharge and refuse fares across the city.

As part of the initial leg of the drive across the city, traffic cops have booked around 17 rickshaw drivers and owners operating without a valid permit. A case has been registered at the Bund Garden police station’s traffic division for forging symbols, registration numbers and running rickshaws without a valid permit.

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Pic of the week is the Soda Pop Rickshaw

Auto-rickshaw drivers in Chennai have a history of overcharging and behave like rash and hard, using rigged meters, and exploting foreign passengers, although they are ubiquitous and possibly the easiest form of transportation to locate. Use only for short distances (if you know exactly how far you are going). Before talking to auto person ask any local person what the actual fare should be, because if you don’t know, they might ask for up to 3 times more.

If you want to travel by the auto, stick to these rules:

• Don’t go by the meter (if they have one) – the meter is rigged to show a higher fare

• Negotiate a rate with the driver beforehand. Try to stick to the agreed price, though the driver may attempt to ask for more.

• Consult local friends beforehand to find out reasonable market prices for the distance you intend to go.

• Try to hail individual auto rickshaws in traffic which are heading in the general direction of your destination and avoid those parked in groups as they may try to gang-up on you.

On a side note – if you are fascinated by the idea of going around in an auto, think about all those foreigners, who are riding an auto from Chennai to Mumbai. A Chennai based event management company, Chennai Event Management Services, has been having these autorickshaw rallies from Chennai to Mumbai, or Kanyakumari, etc., and has developed a great fan following for the same…YES that’s us!

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‘A Different Kind’ of rickshaw race:

Filmed underwater, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba’s 13-minute video installation portrays the simultaneously mundane but epic struggle of six Vietnamese fishermen pulling cyclos (rickshaws) along the sea floor. 

Meant to signify the harsh, challenging conditions of everyday life for many Vietnamese people, the arduous job of dragging the cyclos through the ocean speaks to the difficult burden of the past in face of modernization. Memorial Project Nha Trang: For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards does not employ actors, using actual fishermen instead, for the grueling task. The film’s sense of absurdity is heightened by the fact that the physical struggles are real; from the splashing and stumbling trek from beach to sea-floor, to the maneuvering around boulders and beds of coral. Each time a man seeks traction in the sand with his toes or pushes to the surface to breathe, he does so out of the necessity to overcome the tangible barriers he faces.

Watch selections from the film here

Pic of the week is the Sub Aqua Rickshaw

Finding the Sub Aqua Rickshaw may be a future challenge in one of our rickshaw races…

Three-wheel rides aren’t big surprises in this corner of the world. Thailand has its Tuk-tuk, Southeast Asia its rickshaws or trishaws, the Philippines its tricycles. However, we’re more familiar with these chariots as taxis for commuters. For personal transportation, the West, in the throes of economic recession, is turning increasingly toward affordable and more economical vehicles, particularly the three-wheel variant. While similar outings like Peugeot’s HYmotion3 compressor concept vehicle look a lot yummier in the design department, the upcoming Auto Moto appears less intimidating and zippy enough to convert the scooter covey to the three-wheelies crowd.

It has two major ticks in its checkbox: A bang-for-the-buck fuel system that coughs up 83mpg on the 150cc Honda-designed GY6 engine, and a full windshield and sunroof we’ve seen only in the two-wheeled Honda Gyro Canopy on Singapore roads, to keep out the elements.

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