A failing campaign?: Drive to eliminate two-stroke engine rickshaws slows
Owners reluctant to bear high costs of converting to four-stroke engine.
Rawalpindi had around 4,000 rickshaws back in 2007 after which the DRTA stopped issuing fresh route permits for them. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Attempts by the Rawalpindi Transport Authority (RTA) to convert two-stroke engine rickshaws into more eco-friendly four-stroke ones have not been very successful, mainly because of the cost of the conversion.
When the campaign started in February, officials expected all two-stroke rickshaws in the garrison city to be converted within a month. However, two months later, two-stroke rickshaws are still a common sight on Benazir Bhutto Road, particularly between Committee Chowk and Shamsabad.
District Regional Transport Authority (DTRA) officials are still keen to enforce the policy decision despite admitting that costs were steep. As a result, rickshaw drivers have tried to avoid areas where they are more likely to be stopped.
“I try to stay clear of Gawalmandi to avoid being caught by the police. The four-stroke engine is a failure; one of my friends used it in his rickshaw which started to malfunction within days,” said 18-year-old rickshaw driver Bacha Khan.
Since February, DRTA officers have impounded around 300 rickshaws for not having installed four-stroke engines. Owners have had their registration documents confiscated and returned only once they have shown substantial proof of engine conversion. At the same time, rickshaw owners have been given some leeway to make the successful conversions. “The time has now been extended to one month,” said DRTA Secretary Awais Tarrar.
The Express Tribune had earlier reported that engine conversions would cost around Rs30,000 while another Rs20,000 would be required to purchase a compressed natural gas (CNG) kit. Rickshaw drivers are averse to the move because spare parts needed for four-stroke engines are too expensive while maintenance services for these engines are virtually non-existent.
Rawalpindi had around 4,000 rickshaws back in 2007 after which the DRTA stopped issuing fresh route permits for them. The city currently has 3,100 registered four-stroke rickshaws while many of its two-stroke rickshaws have converted to CNG.
The Punjab government has been trying to get two-stroke rickshaws off the roads in five major cities including Rawalpindi since 2005, after a Lahore High Court order to eliminate them by 2007. Rickshaw drivers are being told to shift to smaller cities, but this is likely to compound environmental pollution in those cities.
According to a study done by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, CNG-run two-stroke rickshaws emit around 10 times fewer hydrocarbons than petrol-run two-stroke rickshaws. The two-stroke variety of the noisy three-wheeler is considered harmful for the environment because it emits unburned fuel and a significant amount of oil --- used for lubrication --- through its exhaust. It also discharges two times more carbon monoxide than four-stroke engines.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2013.
Attempts by the Rawalpindi Transport Authority (RTA) to convert two-stroke engine rickshaws into more eco-friendly four-stroke ones have not been very successful, mainly because of the cost of the conversion.
When the campaign started in February, officials expected all two-stroke rickshaws in the garrison city to be converted within a month. However, two months later, two-stroke rickshaws are still a common sight on Benazir Bhutto Road, particularly between Committee Chowk and Shamsabad.
District Regional Transport Authority (DTRA) officials are still keen to enforce the policy decision despite admitting that costs were steep. As a result, rickshaw drivers have tried to avoid areas where they are more likely to be stopped.
“I try to stay clear of Gawalmandi to avoid being caught by the police. The four-stroke engine is a failure; one of my friends used it in his rickshaw which started to malfunction within days,” said 18-year-old rickshaw driver Bacha Khan.
Since February, DRTA officers have impounded around 300 rickshaws for not having installed four-stroke engines. Owners have had their registration documents confiscated and returned only once they have shown substantial proof of engine conversion. At the same time, rickshaw owners have been given some leeway to make the successful conversions. “The time has now been extended to one month,” said DRTA Secretary Awais Tarrar.
The Express Tribune had earlier reported that engine conversions would cost around Rs30,000 while another Rs20,000 would be required to purchase a compressed natural gas (CNG) kit. Rickshaw drivers are averse to the move because spare parts needed for four-stroke engines are too expensive while maintenance services for these engines are virtually non-existent.
Rawalpindi had around 4,000 rickshaws back in 2007 after which the DRTA stopped issuing fresh route permits for them. The city currently has 3,100 registered four-stroke rickshaws while many of its two-stroke rickshaws have converted to CNG.
The Punjab government has been trying to get two-stroke rickshaws off the roads in five major cities including Rawalpindi since 2005, after a Lahore High Court order to eliminate them by 2007. Rickshaw drivers are being told to shift to smaller cities, but this is likely to compound environmental pollution in those cities.
According to a study done by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, CNG-run two-stroke rickshaws emit around 10 times fewer hydrocarbons than petrol-run two-stroke rickshaws. The two-stroke variety of the noisy three-wheeler is considered harmful for the environment because it emits unburned fuel and a significant amount of oil --- used for lubrication --- through its exhaust. It also discharges two times more carbon monoxide than four-stroke engines.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2013.