The ubiquitous cycle rickshaw, a common sight here, may soon become a thing of the past. Corporation authorities are under pressure to phase out the pedicabs, following complaints that they cause traffic snarls and slow down the movement of motorized vehicles on the roads. But, rickshaw-pulling is one of the biggest sources of livelihood for the urban poor in Bangladesh. While estimates of the number of cycle-rickshaws in Dhaka range from 88,000 to 600,000, only a fraction of the rickshaws plying in the city are legally registered, police and municipal sources say.
Officials realize that phasing out rickshaws is easier said than done.
Representatives of donor countries and agencies as well as private investors have been pressing the administration to improve the traffic system if it wants to attract more foreign investment. A few years ago, some thoroughfares were declared out of bounds for rickshaws. Each rickshaw provides employment to two pullers, who use it for 12 hours every day. Almost all pullers have families with at least five or six members dependent on them. Although municipal authorities have stopped issuing fresh licenses to rickshaw pullers, it has failed to check the entry of hundreds of unauthorized pedicabs on Dhaka's roads.