rickshaw drivers – Rickshaw Challenge

Rickshaw Drivers and Childline Will Work Together for Children’s Safety

veronika — Fri, 27 May 2016 15:26:54 +0000

The safety of children has become a priority in the town of Thiruvananthapuram; with a smart and swift decision, Rickshaw drivers and Childline will work together from now on.

Let There Be More Happy Kids! Photo Credit: Travel Stock/ Shutterstock.com

Childline, India’s first foundation providing help for street children who need it, has gone above and beyond to do so since 1996. The toll-free number can be called day and night, and according to Childline, since their first day in operation, they have had 36 million calls until today. The service works in a whopping 366 cities and towns throughout India, through 700 partner organizations.
From now on, auto rickshaw drivers will be among those partners: according to Times of India, on the International Day for Missing Children Observance, the workers of Childline did a sensitizing training for rickshaw drivers in the city to raise awareness. During the orientation class, some 60 auto rickshaw chauffeurs were added to a WhatsApp group called ‘Auto Suhruthukkalkoppam’ which translates to With Our Auto Friends. Apart from the newly added drivers, the group includes police officers and Childline workers.

WhatsApp to the Rescue. Photo Credit: 10 Face/ Shutterstock

Jobi Kondoor, district coordinator at Childline, said the following about the initiative: “’Our main aim is to utilize the service of the rickshaw drivers not just in tracking down missing children, but also save children, who are estranged from homes. We sensitized them about the functions of Childline and also told them whom to contact when they spot a child under suspicious circumstances.”
During the training, Childline workers also advised on how to communicate with assumed runaway children. The reason why Childline is targeting rickshaw drivers is simple, as Jobi said: most children who run away from home use rickshaw as their primary mode of transport.

P. Prakash, Thampanoor sub-inspector was the one who established the program told the Times of India: “The Whatsapp group will help in prompt sharing of information, which in turn will result in effective intervention from the part of law enforcers.” He also added that in many cases, auto rickshaw drivers turned out to be a much better network for surveillance than public cameras.

Rickshaw Hero. Photo Credit: Kevin Gessner

Recently, the concept of using the help of rickshaw chauffeurs has proven to be a good instinct; a six-year-old boy has been reunited with his family thanks to a perceptive rickshaw driver.
For the time being, the initiative has started in the Thampanoor area of the city, but in time, the programme will be expanded to cover the whole town. Maybe next time you join the Rickshaw Challenge, you can keep an eye out, too!

Are you crazy enough to come along for the ride? Then join us on the next Rickshaw Challenge. Get a team together and let’s see you at the starting line! If you want to join us in spirit, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to keep up with our latest antics.

Rickshaw Drivers Prank

admin — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 10:54:30 +0000

Rickshaw drivers Mumbai prank by Funk You
‘This prank was played in Mumbai with Rickshaw drivers who always have a tendency to travel as per their will, and not as per the customer’s desire to go to a location. Hence, customers have to wait till a rickshaw agrees to go to the desired location.’

Prank with Rickshaw drivers in Mumbai

Indian Rickshaw Drivers

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 13:59:04 +0000

Photo installation by Rico Rosenberger of the colorful world of Indian rickshaw drivers in Cochin, Kerala.

Rickshaw Wallah

The world's top 10 greatest adventures

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 09:49:04 +0000

The Rickshaw Challenge in Lonely Planet’s 10 greatest adventures.
RACE A RICKSHAW
To paraphrase the office sticker cliché: you don’t have to be mad to drive here, but it helps. India’s roads aren’t for the faint of heart; whether you’re on foot, pedalling a bike or jammed into a bus, the mayhem of packed city streets and truck-crammed highways is enough to bring on palpitations in anyony… except rickshaw drivers.
Helming a canvas-topped, unstable three-wheeler with questionable brakes requires the kind of unshakable confidence and offensive driving tactics that would make a Manhattan cab driver kneel in awe.
The autorickshaw is such an icon of the Subcontinent, that it was only a matter of time before someone dreamed up the idea of a pan-Indian rickshaw odyssey. And so, in 2006, the first Rickshaw Challenge was born.
The other 9 adventures:
CANYONEER UTAH’S PARIA CANYON
CLIMB MT RORAIMA, VENEZUELA
DIVE ICELAND’S TECTONIC PLATES
ICE TREK ARGENTINA’S MORENO GLACIER
KAYAK MOSQUITO BAY
MOUNTAIN BIKE MOAB’S SLICKROCK TRAIL
ROW ACROSS SIBERIA’S LAKE BAIKAL
TRAMP THE MILFORD IN NEW ZEALAND
WALK WITH WOLVES IN YELLOWSTONE
This is an edited extract from Lonely Planet’s Great Adventures © Lonely Planet 2012. Available in stores now.
Via: Herald Sun

Rickshaw

admin — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:32:40 +0000

Omur Black takes us to the narrow laneways of London late at night when an army of rickshaw drivers look for customers as the city’s famous theatres spill their patrons on to the rainy streets. From their base in an autopark underneath Great Portland Street and Russell Square, the rickshaw drivers converge on central London where they battle nightly with the police, who try to move them on. But the law is ambivalent about non-engine vehicles, and dates back to a time when horse-drawn vehicles crowded the city’s streets. And so, it’s a thriving business, bringing a colourful array of rickshaws into an already-crowded city, and cycling their customers around London’s famous landmarks.

For Hire! – Bangalore Rickshaw

admin — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:13:12 +0000

Green, yellow, black. They are the blood in the veins of Bangalore: the 450.000 rickshaws and their drivers. Knocked together from bits and pieces, decorated, ready for the junk heap or carefully maintained like antique cars, the vehicles are as charismatic as their owners, who brave the monstrous traffic of this metropolis daringly, sleepy, chattering or stoic, making sure the passanger’s trip from A to B will be full of memorable experiences.
Based on days of riding around in rickshaws and drawings made locally, this animation captures the tough workaday life of a rickshaw driver, seen through the eyes of a European visitor.
Watch: FOR HIRE! – BANGALORE RICKSHAW by Xaver Xylophon

Smart Rickshaw Network

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:33:56 +0000

SRN (Smart Rickshaw Network) targets rickshaw drivers of BOP section from developing countries as micro workers to provide real time traffic, landmark and tourist hot spot updates & act as advertisement medium; which will help in uplifting their living and at same time addressing the problem of Traffic Congestion & Mobile Recycling.
India’s Aadhar Bhalinge, the SRN founder is the winner of m2Work, a World Bank-sponsored online challenge seeking the best ideas for spurring the job-creation potential of mobile phones.

m2Work Winner announcement:

Three Wheels United

admin — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:57:31 +0000

Three Wheels United have taken on the challenge to improve the lives of the millions of rickshaw drivers that ply the roads of India and other countries. In close co-creation with the auto rickshaw driver communities, TWU developed a profitable business model that will improve the living standard of rickshaw drivers and their families.

The model is based on 3 components:
• Fair loans so that rickshaw drivers can buy their own vehicle
• Additional streams of income, such as advertising
• Clean technology that lowers fuel cost and is less harmful for the environment

Via: Three Wheels United

The Delivery: Short Film

admin — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:32:30 +0000

Ramu and Goldy are two babies separated at a tattoo parlor in India under tragic circumstances. 30 years later, Ramu, now an auto rickshaw driver and Goldy, an ambulance driver meet at a traffic light.

The idea for this film by Arjun Gupte came form his encounters with auto rickshaw drivers in Bangalore and Chennai.

‘They are some of the most colorful characters around and stories about their exploits are legendary as they break almost every rule and cause mayhem on the roads. I come from India and it was important for me to get a unique look and feel that represented what my country was all about, a mish-mash of colors, shapes, people and animals all living together.’

Via: Arjun Gupte