Ah yes, the good old rickshaw. I have never seen one in actual use myself, but that's probably because I don't regularly leave the continental United States, where they are not a very popular choice, even in urban areas. But, I read that they are common in other parts of the world, and we have covered them a few times in the past. When I first read the headline for this story, the first thing that came to mind was the story we had a while back about the walking electric rickshaw pulled by a fake president. It's true, click here for that if you happened to miss it the first time around. But, what the article is talking about is much more normal than that. They talk a bit about the older two-stroke autorickshaws that are still being used in certain parts of the planet, in part because they are cheap to purchase and easy and inexpensive to fix. However, they are bad polluters. But, not all autorickshaws are powered by two-stroke engines, in fact, some have very economical four-stroke powerplants. Even better would be one of the solar or battery electric models talked about in the article. Best: This one?

The other day I wrote a little piece about using a scooter in New York City. When I read this article, I started to think about my own trips to New York, and the fact that when I hailed a taxi, I was almost always the only person in it. That means I was using a two-ton, exhaust-belching behemoth to move a few blocks from one place to another. Even worse, it would have been quicker just to walk some of the time. Would an electric autorickshaw have worked? Sometimes, and if one had been available, I surely would have tried it out! Maybe the mayor should think about that before he orders all those hybrid taxis?

Alternate Title: All your rickshaw's are belong to us. Didn't use it 'cause it's overused. But that doesn't mean it's not funny.

[Source: About my Planet via Hugg]