Too close for comfort: Female passengers uncomfortable with conductors in nine-seat rickshaws

Rickshaw owners claim the conductors are required to perform a number of duties.

KARACHI: Public transport, especially buses and coaches, have a long history of women harassment. The rise of nine-seat CNG rickshaws in the past couple of years has allowed women to use public transport while feeling relatively safer.

However, that may no longer be the case as, like buses and coaches, nine-seat rickshaws have now started to employ conductors, who cling onto the small frame of the vehicle as it zooms through the streets of Karachi.

Feeling uncomfortable

“The presence of a conductor makes me uncomfortable travelling in a nine-seat rickshaw,” said Anum Habib, a student in her early twenties, sitting inside a rickshaw as the conductor stood right next to her.



Others echo Habib’s thoughts. “No doubt these rickshaws have made travelling easier for us as compared to mini  buses and coaches but the presence of a conductor makes us uncomfortable,” said Misha Khan, an Iqra University student who often travels in these rickshaws.

The collapse of the city’s bus system has given way to these rickshaws, and female passengers - students and professionals alike - prefer this new mode of transport due to a number of reasons. “It is more comfortable and also saves time as rickshaws are able to travel faster than buses through the crowded streets of the city,” said a teacher, Shaheen Ali. “Since there is no space for the conductors to stand, they stand right in our faces and ask for fares.”

Conductors not allowed  but needed

The All Karachi Qingqi Rickshaw Welfare Association (AKQRWA) does not allow conductors in Qingqis or nine-seat rickshaws. “We don’t have any policy in favour of conductors and will take strict action against the rickshaws that have conductors,” AKQRWA’s Syed Safdar Shah Qadri told The Express Tribune.

However, nine-seat rickshaw operators feel that conductors are required. “Conductors are necessary in nine-seat rickshaws,” claimed Muhammad Ayub, who owns two of them. “Conductors collect the fare, seat the passengers and even clean the rickshaw when required. All of this allows the driver to concentrate fully on driving.”

Child labour

The conductors are often underage labourers, usually between the ages of 10 and 15. “Young boys have more energy and work for lower wages,” explained Mehboob Khan, a rickshaw driver. “The women are also more comfortable if the conductor is a young boy as compared to if he is an adult man.”

The young boys who work as conductors know they are being taken advantage of, but cannot do anything about it. “I should be studying at this age,” said Javed Ali, a 12-year-old who works as a conductor. “I don’t like doing this but I have to support my family so I have no other option. The rickshaw owner pays me between Rs150 and Rs250 for more than 12 hours of work.”

A successful business

The rickshaws have proven to be a huge success during the two years that they have been operational. “People prefer these rickshaws as they run for 20 hours a day, provide proper seating and charge reasonable fares,” claimed Javed Khan, the incharge of the Qayyumabad Qingqi and rickshaw stop. However, Khan insisted that he has never heard of a woman complain about the conductors. “They [conductors] have been working in nine-seat rickshaws for the past eight months but I have not heard one complaint about their behaviour.”

More than 250 nine-seat rickshaws visit Khan’s stop daily; a stopping point for more than six different rickshaw routes. A rickshaw driver, M Nawaz, explains that the need for conductors has increased as more routes emerge. The conductors help attract passengers by shouting out the different stops on the rickshaw’s route. As rickshaws take over and their network expands even further, the need for conductors will only increase.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2014.