MODERNISATION OF THE RICKSHA

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5327, 13 February 1947, Page 3

MODERNISATION OF THE RICKSHA

PEDAL-D'RIVEN MODEL IXCREASED SPEEiD AND SAFETY The city of Singapore, wearied by war and distracted by 'peace, has but one small material improveme.nt to show for its ytears of tribuilation. During its disguise as Syonan, the Tokio of the South, hundreds of the local push-bikes were fitted with an extra "wheel and side-car for public transport services. These new vehicles took the place of the old rickshas, and their official designation as "tricycle-'jinricksha" has been popularly shortened to "trisha, pronounced ~"tryi shaw." Their construction is >ugly by comparison with the lithe and graceful ricksha, as made by the Chinese craftsmen of Hong Kong, but no doubt their design will improve just as trains, motor cars and aeroplanes have become "easier on the eyes.' The trisha involves less work for the coolie-driver, and behaves better in heavy traffic, because of the increased speed. The new vehicle has naturally been denounced by the guild of rickshapullers, who are all Chinese, and therefore more than a little eonservative. They say that the new-fangled trisha is a menace to life and limb, that the drivers can't see where they are going, and that the increased strain of pushing will kill them in a few short years, and so on. When the British took over thc eity from the Japanese they ruled that the old rickshas were to be prohibited in favour of the trishas, but now they have granted permission for rickshas to remain in usc until they wear out. Meanwhile, the riders of the new machines have formed themselves into a trade union of Trishamen, under the British Labour Government's "New Deal" for Malaya. Although the ricksha has been widely used in China, Malaya, Ceylon and South Africa, it is said to have been invented by the Japanese. The sedanchair was the traditional "taxi-cab" of China, and the ricksha was an innovation there. In Singapore, the trisha has a folding' hood, to keep'sun and rain off the passenger, while the body of the sidecar is gaily painted with designs botanical and astrological, or more rarely with scenes allegorical, showing the private'lives of gods and godesses in the Chinese tradition. In central Malaya the trishas are built with a side platform, which rnay be used for t'he earriage of goods. Those eng-aged in the passenger trade have a large cane arm-chair fitted on the platform. As there is no hood, the driver provides an oil-paper umbrella for the eomfort of his guest; the result reminds one of Queen Victoria in her open landau, with her parasol. ' Penang has its own type of trisha, which is not just an old push-bike convertecl, but a manufactured entity of enamelled metal, with the driver mounted behind the passenger's seat. Despite these local variations, all trishas have three things in common 1 — they have three wheels, they are prope'lled by foot-pedals, and the passenger seat is too close to the ground. Apart from the indignity of sitting . on a lower plar.e than the cooliedriver, the passenger is also a couple of feet closer to the heat hnd dust of the road than in a ricksha. The reason for the lower position of the seat is to enable the driver to see the traffic more clearly, and this is essential iov safety in the whirl of military trucks, speeding taxis, huffalo carts and human freight carriers. It used to be said that the average rickshaman's expectation of life was short, owing to the strain of the work. Certainly none but down-and-out Chinese adopt the work, saying that other races are not tough- enough. .A.ny rival would indeed have to be tough to face the "business rivalry" of the Chinese ricksha-pullers, who in thc past offen carried a heavy stick under the passenger's foot-mat, for use on those rare occasions when words failed them! As for tne strain of the work, that is largely up to themselves to arrange by their speed of running and hours of toil. There are several harder methods of earning a living in the woild. Before the war the rickshaman earned about fourpence a mile, though he could also be hired by the hour. Some rickshas were wider than otliers, and could hold a couple at a pinch. It was not unusual to see a fat Chinese merehant, plus wife, plus a pile of baskets as high as themselves, being towed along by a anxious runner, who was doubtless wondering how many extra cents he might get for his labour.