Old auto rickshaws running strong

60-year-old four-seater taxis continue to offer stable employment, cheap transport to low income families

KARACHI:

Among the hustle and bustle of local and imported automobiles, motorbikes, buses, taxis and modern rickshaws occupying Karachi’s roads, the six decades old four-seater auto rickshaws and their senescent drivers continue to be a popular sight across several junctions of the port city. 60-year-old Alhaj Abdul Jilani, has been driving his same age auto rickshaw since the past 40 years from Saddar to Abyssinia Lines.

The rickshaw, which was imported from Italy in 1962, has been the sole source of income for Jilani, who has a family of eight to support.

“I bought my rickshaw, known as the three-wheeled mini taxi, for Rs50,000 during the 80’s . Even as decades have passed, these auto rickshaws are still fairly popular and approximately 150 to 200 of them are present in Karachi today. You can easily spot some of them plying across Korangi and Liaquatabad and many others standing in a row outside Saint Patrick’s School in Saddar,” said Jilani, who initially took a fare of 30 paisa but now takes Rs20 person.

Similarly, Musharraf, an auto rickshaw driver from Saddar, has been driving his rickshaw since the fare was only 60 paisa per passenger.

“Earlier, I used to drive someone else’s rickshaw, but a few years ago I purchased my own for Rs200,000. This is my only source of employment,” shared Musharraf, who has a family of two daughters and a son.

Other elderly rickshaw drivers like Islamuddin and Irshad, too claimed to have been driving their four-seater auto rickshaws from Saddar since several decades. Even though rickshaws might appear to be the only historic mode of transportation, they were nevertheless simply a replacement for a much more dated ride across the route from Saddar to Liaquatabad.

“Before the four-seater rickshaws, horse-drawn carriages were the only mode of travel on this route. These carriages used to run before the formation of Pakistan during the British era, and they continued for several years after independence. However, in the 1960’s, the four-seater rickshaws were introduced in Pakistan,” recalled Noor Muhammad, a local from Jacob Lines, who astonishingly noted that the dated rickshaws continued to occupy roads in the city even as millions of modern rickshaws of various types had replaced them.

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Muhammad’s bewilderment was shared by Saeed Memon, Deputy Director of the Motor Vehicle Registration Wing of the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department, when he reported that despite a sum total of 288,877 modern rickshaws registered in Karachi, the old four-seator rickshaws had been successful in maintaining their demand.

According to the rickshaw drivers, auto rickshaws have undergone several modifications over the years in order to keep up with the changing times, with many switching from petrol to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), in the hopes of maintaining the popularity of the rickshaws among the masses and stabilizing their primary source of employment.

However, while the popularity of auto rickshaws remains more or less unchanged, so do the travelling conditions, which are now as congested as ever. “Nowadays, four seater rickshaws are taking as many as 8 passengers on board,” confirmed Jilani, a rickshaw driver.

In spite of the overcrowded nature of the rickshaws, many citizens still feel comfortable travelling with their families “The rickshaw driver belongs to our area, and we are familiar with him, therefore our women and children are comfortable travelling on their rickshaws,” responded a passenger, who was travelling on a brimming rickshaw with his family.

While some passengers prefer the auto rickshaw due to the familiarity and comfort level they share with the driver, others like Mohammad Hassan, a passenger from Jacob Lines, who travels on the rickshaw to Saddar regularly, resort to the dated ride for its cheap fare and nostalgic vibe.

“Apart from the fact that the fare of the auto rickshaw is only Rs20, I enjoy travelling in this rickshaw since it reminds me of my childhood. It is a rare remnant of my past,” delighted Hassan.