The politics of (im)mobility: Rickshaw bans in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

and in the Global South are making wild investments in auto-oriented urban and transport infrastructures. Ahmed & Shi Ye (2008:126) show that such developments in Chinese and Pakistani cities in many cases compromise environmental sustainability, long term feasibility, social equity and favor "a minority of premium modes users over a majority who prefers walking, biking and conventional transit system". Public transport systems in Delhi, India, as well, exclude these users, who remain outside the formal planning process and is not "taking care of the slow vehicles [NMVs] on the road" and hence, is functioning in a sub-optimal condition (Tiwari, 2002:95). In case of African cities, Khayesi et al (2010) find similar levels of negligence towards pedestrians, cyclists and street vendors in transport policy and practice in Nairobi, Kenya. They show that this results in competing use of pavements and roads which ultimately exposes pedestrians, cyclists and street vendors to insecurity and harassment. In Bangkok, the Skytrain has contributed to increase social inequality by providing an alternative mode for an 'idealized' (new type) user, thus ignoring the unaffordable majority (Richardson & Jensen, 2008). This is a common feature in a growing generation of urban mega-projects in the Global South (ibid); more frequent are large investments in roads and elevated motorways than rail-transit systems or mass-transit systems like BRTs. Thus, urban 'soft mobilities' are eliminated in favour of auto-mobility resulting in a "spatial organization and mobility regime incongruent with widespread transit, pedestrian and bicycling spaces" (Henderson, 2004:203). NMT is "the neglected Cinderella of transport modes" (Gwilliam, 2003:212) and is "systematically underrecognized" (World Bank, hereafter WB, 2002:xiii). Rahman et al. (2009) have expressed serious doubt regarding the future of popular NMVs-rickshaw, becak, etc-in Asia. NMT detractors depict these NMVs as being degrading and slow while causing congestion and argue for bans. Hence, bicycles and rickshaws are banned in many Chinese cities (Zacharias, 2012) as well as in an increasing number of Indian cities:

Critical geographies of transport and mobility: Studying power relations through practice, academia, and activism

“…Similar discussions have occurred around rickshaws in many Southeast Asian cities, where again the twin benefits of mobility (especially for women and/or elderly people) and livelihood provision are swept aside in favor of a "modern" approach to transportation (Hasan & Dávila, 2018;Notar et al, 2018).…”

“…Hanoi thus embodies the twin movements of many cities in the Global South to embrace “modern” modes and shun traditional ones, despite the subsequent effects on livelihoods and mobility (Eidse et al., 2016). Similar discussions have occurred around rickshaws in many Southeast Asian cities, where again the twin benefits of mobility (especially for women and/or elderly people) and livelihood provision are swept aside in favor of a “modern” approach to transportation (Hasan & Dávila, 2018; Notar et al., 2018).…”

Fast Futures and Everyday Endurance: Mobility, Temporality, and Cycle‐Rickshaws in Dhaka

“…The first talk of banning and replacing the rickshaw started as early as 1944, 5 only a few years after the vehicle was introduced to Dhaka. The impression that the rickshaw would “soon” be a vehicle of the past was further cultivated by restrictive policy measures that were implemented over the years, with the first restrictions on issuing rickshaw licenses dating back to the early 1950s (Hasan, 2013, 19). In more recent years, Dhaka City Corporation has worked actively to ban the rickshaw from major roads and intersections under its “Phased Implementation Plan.” This plan was launched in 2002 as part of the Dhaka Urban Transport Project (DUTP)—funded by the World Bank—and proposed the phased withdrawal of rickshaws from eleven major roads, constituting a total of 120 kilometers (Efroymson and Bari, 2005; Hasan and Dávila, 2018; Rahman, D'Este, and Bunker, 2009).…”

Nonmotorized Commuting Behavior of Middle-Income Working Adults in a Developing Country

“…In CCC area, the probability to use NMT increases when the respondents have a better perception of the safety and availability of en-route cycling and rickshaw facilities. The major transport policies and interventions adopted in Bangladesh least prioritize the use of rickshaws and rickshaw vans (Hasan and Dávila 2018).…”