
Rickshaw originally denoted a
pulled rickshaw, which is a two- or three-wheeled
cart generally
pulled by one person carrying one
passenger
A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...
. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time,
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s (also known as pedicabs or trishaws),
auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
s, and
electric rickshaws were invented, and have replaced the original pulled rickshaws, with a few exceptions for their use in tourism.
Pulled rickshaws created a popular form of transportation, and a source of employment for male labourers, within Asian cities in the 19th century. Their appearance was related to newly acquired knowledge of
ball-bearing systems. Their popularity declined as cars, trains and other forms of transportation became widely available.
Auto rickshaws are becoming more popular in some cities in the 21st century as an alternative to taxis because of their low cost of hire. Bangladesh holds the record of hosting highest number of rickshaws in the world with 40,000 rickshaws operating in the capital
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
alone every day. In 2023,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
listed rickshaws and rickshaw art as 'intangible heritage' of Bangladesh.
Etymology
''Rickshaw'' originates from the Japanese word ''jinrikisha'' (, ''jin'' = human, ''riki'' = power or force, ''sha'' = vehicle), which literally means "human-powered vehicle".
History
Origin
The first rickshaws were invented in France in the late 17th century, to fulfill, along with other types of carriages such as
cabriolets and
fiacres, the unmet demand for public transportation created by the 1679 cessation of Paris' first
omnibus service. These vehicles, called "vinaigrettes" for their resemblance to the handcarts used by contemporary vinegar-sellers, were fully-enclosed two-wheeled carriages with space for a single person. Usually, they were moved by two people; one holding the bars at the front and the other pushing from behind.
[Mellot and Blancart (2006), p. 7.]
A painting named "Les deux carrosses" by Claude Gillot shows 2 rickshaws in 1707.
Rickshaws were independently invented in Japan circa 1869,
after the lifting of a ban on wheeled vehicles from the
Tokugawa period (1603–1868), and at the beginning of a period of rapid technical advancement in Japan.
Inventor
There are many theories about the inventor, with the most likely and widely accepted theory describing the rickshaw as having been invented in Japan in 1869,
by Izumi Yosuke, who formed a partnership with Suzuki Tokujiro and Takayama Kosuke to build the vehicles,
having been "inspired by the horse carriages that had been introduced to the streets of Tokyo a few years earlier".
Other theories about the inventor of the rickshaw include:
*
Reverend Jonathan Goble (sometimes called Jonathan Scobie), an American
Free Baptist minister and
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
to Japan, is said to have invented the rickshaw around 1869 to transport his invalid wife through the streets of
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
.
* An American
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
named Albert Tolman is said to have invented the rickshaw, or "man drawn lorry" in 1846 in
Worcester, Massachusetts, for a
South American
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
bound
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
.
* In
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, the Burlington County Historical Society claims an 1867 invention by carriage maker James Birch, and exhibits a Birch rickshaw in its museum.
Japan historian Seidensticker wrote of the theories:
Though the origins of the rickshaw are not entirely clear, they seem to be Japanese, and of Tokyo specifically. The most widely accepted theory offers the name of three inventors, and gives 1869 as the date of invention.
Description
The vehicle had a wooden carriage that rode on "superior Western wheels" and was a dramatic improvement over earlier modes of transportation. Whereas the earlier sedan chairs required two people, the rickshaw generally only required one. More than one person was required for hilly or mountainous areas. It also provided a smoother ride for the passenger. Other forms of vehicles at the time were drawn by animals or were wheelbarrows.
The vehicle also has an collapsible hood for protection from sun or rain.
The
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...
in Sydney, has had a rickshaw in its collection for over 120 years. It was made about 1880 and is described as:
A rickshaw, or jinrikisha, is a light, two-wheeled cart consisting of a doorless, chairlike body, mounted on springs with a collapsible hood and two shafts. Finished in black lacquer-ware over timber, it was drawn by a single rickshaw runner.
Late 19th century
In the Late 19th century, hand-pulled rickshaws became an inexpensive, popular mode of transportation across Asia.
Peasants who migrated to large Asian cities often worked first as a rickshaw runner.
It was "the deadliest occupation in the East,
ndthe most degrading for human beings to pursue."
Japan

Starting in 1870, the Tokyo government issued a permit to build and sell 人力車 (jinrikisha: rickshaw in Japanese) to the trio that are believed in Asia to be the rickshaw's inventors: Izumi Yosuke, Takayama Kosuke, and Suzuki Tokujiro. In order to operate a rickshaw in Tokyo, a seal was required from these men.
By 1872, they replaced the
kago and norimono, becoming the main mode of transportation in Japan, with about 40,000 rickshaws in service. At that time man-power was much cheaper than horse-power; horses were generally only used by the military. Some of the rickshaws were artistically decorated with paintings and rear elevations. In this time, the more exuberant styles of decorations were banned. If the families were well-off financially they might have their own rickshaw runner. Generally, runners covered in a day, at an average traveling speed of .
Japanese rickshaw manufacturers produced and exported rickshaws to Asian countries and South Africa.
Singapore
Singapore received its first rickshaws in 1880 and soon after they were prolific, making a "noticeable change in the traffic on Singapore's streets."
Bullock cart
A bullock cart or ox cart (sometimes called a Carriage#Bullock carriage, bullock carriage when carrying people in particular) is a two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in m ...
s and
gharries were used before rickshaws were introduced.
Many of the poorest individuals in Singapore in the late nineteenth century were poverty-stricken, unskilled people of Chinese
ancestry
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...
. Sometimes called
coolies, the hardworking men found that pulling a rickshaw was a new opportunity for employment.
In 1897,
martial law
Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
was declared to end a four-day rickshaw workers' strike.
Other

In China, the rickshaw was first seen in 1873 and was used for public transportation the following year. Within a year there were 10,000 rickshaws in operation. Around 1880 rickshaws appeared in India, first introduced in
Simla
Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...
by
Reverend J. Fordyce. At the turn of the century they were introduced in Calcutta, India, and by 1914 were a conveyance for hire.
The rickshaw was also introduced to Korea in the late 19th century.
20th century
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, there was a major shift in the use of man-powered rickshaws:
Hand- pulled rickshaws became an embarrassment to modernizing urban elites in the Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...
, and were widely banned, in part because they were symbolic, not of modernity, but of a feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
world of openly marked class distinctions. Perhaps the seated rickshaw passenger is too close to the back of the laboring driver, who, besides, is metaphorically a draught animal harnessed between shafts.
The
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
was built in the 1880s and was first used with regularity starting in 1929 in Singapore. They were found in every south and east Asian country by 1950. By the late 1980s there were estimated 4 million cycle rickshaws in the world.
Africa

Rickshaws were introduced to
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
, South Africa, and by 1904 there were about 2,000 registered rickshaw pullers.
Rickshaws operated in
Nairobi
Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
in the beginning of the 20th century; pullers went on strike there in 1908. In the 1920s, they were used in
Bagamoyo,
Tanga, Tanzania and other areas of East Africa for short distances.
Asia
The rickshaw's popularity in Japan had declined by the 1930s with the advent of motorized forms of transportation like automobiles and trains. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when gasoline and automobiles were scarce, they made a temporary comeback. The rickshaw tradition has stayed alive in Kyoto and Tokyo's
geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha
{{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...
districts.
In the 1990s, German-made
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s called "velotaxis" were introduced in Japanese cities, including
Kobe
Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
.

In
post-war
A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
Hong Kong, rickshaws was one of the main transportation either for transporting goods or for transporting people during the Japanese invasion, known as the
Battle of Hong Kong. Japanese military hired many rickshaw pullers to have them gathered and organize with other cooks and seamen for an underground armed team to enact the anti-British Colony clan. However, after World War II, other forms of transport such as pedicabs and streetcar became strong competitors of rickshaws, leading the business of rickshaws into stagnation.
Chiuchow men formed a faction within the Canton rickshaw pullers union in the 1920s. In addition, the Chiuchow pullers could be identified by their hats which were rounded and flat at the top; while the rival Hoklo men had a cone-shaped headgear with sharp points at the top.
However, rickshaw use began to decline in the 1920s
as the government introduced the streetcar system in 1924.
The number of rickshaw pullers had declined from 44,200 to 25,877 six months after the opening of the tramway.
It had also caused the Beijing tramway riot in October 1929.
A rough form of a rickshaw is sometimes used for hauling coal, building materials or other material. Both motorized and pedal-power cycle rickshaws, or pedicabs, were used for short-distance passenger travel.
There are still many rickshaws in many cities for either touring purposes (in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, with traditional Chinese rickshaws) or short range transportation in some counties. However, the new Communist government banned rickshaws in Canton in the early 1950s, leading to another low tide of rickshaws.
In Singapore, the rickshaw's popularity increased into the 20th century. There were approximately 50,000 rickshaws in 1920 and that number had doubled by 1930.
Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s were used in Singapore beginning in 1929. Within six years
pulled rickshaws were outnumbered by
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s,
which were also used by sightseeing tourists.
[Suryadinata (1992). p. 40.]

In the 1930s,
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s were used in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
, Bangladesh,
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, India; and
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, Indonesia. By 1950 they could be found in many
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and East Asian countries.
By the end of the 20th century, there were 300,000 such vehicles in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
. By the end of 2013, there were about 100,000
electric rickshaws in Delhi.
In Viêtnam, the rickshaw was called with the French name "Pousse-pousse". In 1883, Jean Thomas Raoul Bonnal, Supérior Résident of Tonkin, import 2 rickshaws from Japan in the city of Hanoi and made copies of them.
North America
Pedicabs were introduced in North America in 1962, where they were a means of transportation at the
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
World's Fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
in the state of
Washington.
21st century

The 21st century has seen a resurgence in rickshaws, particularly in motorized rickshaws and cycle rickshaws.
Auto rickshaws, also called velotaxis, have resurged as they are about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of regular taxis. German velotaxis are three-wheeled, powered vehicles with a space for a driver and, behind the driver, space for two passengers.
Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s are used in many Asian, North American, and European cities.
They are increasingly being used as an eco-friendly way of short-range transportation, particularly in urban areas. Along with
auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
s, they are also used (particularly by Asian cities) for tourism, because of their "novelty value as an entertaining form of transportation".
Africa
In Madagascar, pulled cycle and auto rickshaws are a common form of transportation in a number of cities, especially
Antsirabe
Antsirabe () also known as Ville d'eau is the list of cities in Madagascar, third largest city in Madagascar and the capital of the Vakinankaratra region, with a population of 265,018 in 2014.
In Madagascar, Antsirabe is known for its relatively ...
. They are known as ''pousse-pousse'', meaning ''push-push''. Aboboyaa is a tricycle used in the transportation of goods and service in Ghana.
Asia
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
still uses tri-wheeled bicycle rickshaw, or riquexó in Portuguese, as Macau was a Portuguese colony in the past. This kind of transportation was very famous until the late 20th century, due to the fact of being a small city and few cars, not so many motorcycles, very bad public transport and no other transport such as train or subway. You can go around Macau peninsula and the twos island on rickshaw, and visit the Riquexó Museum and see the evolution of rickshaws from the 18th century until modern times.
Automated cycle rickshaws, called velotaxis, are popular in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. Their use is growing at a rate of about 20–30% a year in Japanese cities. The traditional rickshaws are still alive for travelers in some tourist places in Japan. Rickshaws are found in Hong Kong.
In China, automated and pedal-power cycle rickshaws, or pedicabs, are used for short-distance passenger travel in large cities and many medium-sized cities.
Most Indian cities offer
auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
service; hand-pulled rickshaws do exist in some areas, such as
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
(Calcutta) as a part of their transport system which also includes cycle rickshaws. Sri Lanka has over 1 million auto rickshaws registered in use as of 2018.
Australia
In Australia,
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s or trishaws (3 wheels) are used in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and
St Kilda. They are also seen in
Cowaramup, Western Australia at Bakehouse '38.
Europe
Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s or trishaws (3 wheels) are used in some large continental European cities,
such as:
* Austria:
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
* Denmark:
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
and
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...
* Estonia:
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
* France: Paris and
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
* Germany:
Lake Constance
Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...
, Berlin,
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Hamburg,
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
and other cities.
* Hungary:
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
* Ireland:
Cork and
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
.
* Italy:
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, Milan,
and
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
* The Netherlands:
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
,
Willemstad
Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...
* Norway:
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
* Poland:
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
and
Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
* Russia:
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
* Spain:
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
* Switzerland:
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
* Romania:
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
Within the United Kingdom, pedicabs operate in:
* London, mostly in
Soho
SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
and other areas of central London. Their activity is not regulated by
Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
, so there are no limits of the fees they can charge.
The
Queen's Speech in May 2022 introduced plans to legislate a licensing scheme for pedicabs.
*
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, where vendors are hired like taxis and provide tours.
*
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
.
North America
* In Canada, there are pedicabs in operation in
Victoria and
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. They are regulated in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. Pulled rickshaw rides are available in downtown
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, with tours of historical
Byward Market.
* In the United States,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
and New York City each host hundreds of pedicabs; dozens of other North American cities also have
pedicab services. In New York, human powered transport is used primarily by tourists due to its cost.
In
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, pedicabs have been used to transport
French Quarter tourists since the summer of 2012.
* In Mexico, there are thousands of pedicabs. All drivers are in informal circumstances, and have precarious working conditions, long hours (11.3 hours a day), low wages (US$59.18 per week), and no social protections or benefits. 6.3% reported suffering from a disease, 49.5% corresponded to musculoskeletal conditions and only 11.6% were affiliated to any health system. 53.8% are owners of the vehicle and, although it does not seem to influence physical illness (P=0.03), it is related to the psychosocial ones (P=0.260).
Types
Types of rickshaws include:
* a
pulled rickshaw; a two-wheeled passenger cart pulled by a human runner
* a
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
, also called a ''pedicab''
* an
auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
, also called a ''tuk-tuk'', ''auto'', ''mototaxi'', or ''baby taxi''
* an
electric rickshaw, also called ''e-rickshaw''.
File:Pousse-pousse_Madagascar.jpg, Pulled rickshaw, Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
File:Riksaw nepal.jpg, Cycle rickshaws, Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
File:Auto_Rickshaw_in_San_Francisco.jpg, Auto rickshaw, San Francisco, California
File:Human.rickshaw.kolkata.india.JPG, Pulled Rickshaw in Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
File:Gem_prince.jpg, FRP, GEM e-rickshaw Haryana, India
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Becaks bij de Britse ambassade TMnr 20018038.jpg, Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
in Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
known as ''"Bechak"''
See also
; Rickshaws
*
Auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
*
Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
*
Electric rickshaw
*
Pulled rickshaw
*
Rickshaw art
; Designers
*
George Bliss (pedicab designer)
;Other human powered transport
*
Bath chair
A bath chair—or Bath chair—was a rolling chaise or light carriage for one person with a folding hood, which could be open or closed. Used especially by disabled persons, it was mounted on three or four wheels and drawn or pushed by hand. ...
*
Human-powered transport
Human-powered transport is the transport of passenger, person(s) and/or goods (freight) using human power, human muscle power. Unlike animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, run ...
*
Boda-boda (bicycle taxi)
*
Bicycle trailer
*
Cargo bike
There have been many human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads since their earliest appearance in the history of the bicycle, 20th century. They are referred to variously depending on the number of wheel ...
*
Quadracycle
*
Utility cycling
Utility cycling encompasses any cycling done simply as a means of transport rather than as a sport or leisure activity. It is the original and most common type of cycling in the world. Cycling mobility is one of the various types of private t ...
Explanatory notes
Citations
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
* Histoire du Pousse-pousse : https://www.patrimoine.asso.fr/879-2/
*
*
{{Authority control
Articles containing video clips
Human-powered vehicles
Japanese inventions
Vehicles for hire