Roy Chand

Among all these transport modes rickshaw is characterized by slowest flow characteristics. As a service provider mode of public transport rickshaw is much expensive mode of transport especially for the lower and lower-middle urban passengers because of its undefined and uncontrolled fare system. Also the presence of non-motorized vehicles especially rickshaw in the traffic stream affects vehicular performance and reduces the actual capacities of highway facilities. These effects are severe at signalized intersections within the urban areas where there are frequent intersections[1]. Rahman M.

M. (2003) studied that if the proportion of rickshaw in the mixed traffic stream is more than 50% at signalized urban intersection discharge rate of traffic reduces drastically as the proportion of rickshaws increases. CNG- autorickshaw are characterized by greater mobility than rickshaw but these modes are very expensive and also considerably responsible for degrading urban environment through pollution. Minibus and bus are the popular mode of public transportation with least unit fare and these types of modes are highly appreciated for passenger carrying in the densely populated urban areas.

Battery operated autorickshaw or easybike can be better sustitute to rickshaw in urban transportation system. Rickshaw, on an average carries two passengers while at the same time an easybike can serve the transport demand of two or three times more passengers charging less fare compared to manually-operated rickshaws (Haque, The Daily Star, 30 May 2011). In maximum an easybike can carry eight persons in a single trip where this figure is just four in case of rickshaw. Transportation system of almost all the cities of Bangladesh involves a considerable percentage of rickshaw.

However, due to inferior flow characteristics within the traffic stream rickshaw now has been identified as one of the major sources of traffic problem in the cities[2]. According to Chowdhury (1988) the transport pattern of a city differs from country to country depending on its socio-economic conditions, technological advancements and local factors. The developed nations with higher economic prosperity and ffinancial capability and modern technological advancements have invested heavily in more efficient transport system. Most of the cities of Bangladesh are characterized by higher population density.

Majority of the city dwellers in a city are lower and lower-middle class people. This major portion of city people demands low cost public transport which can be served very efficiently by bus and minibus. But bus and minibus both involves some crucial disadvantages; frequent stopping which may be required urgently in the densely populated city areas reduces their transport efficiency and increases energy consumption; these modes are also responsible for environment pollution; they require huge parking areas at the destination and origin.

Easybikes, however reduces these disadvantages very efficiently. Easybikes are low cost public transport mode designed with least energy consumption at stoppings. Mader (2006) studied that a vehicle generally needs to travel less than 60 miles per day on fixed routes in cities all across the country. In that case battery operated auto-rickshaw is well suited in city transport system since they have to endure frequent stops. Additionally frequent stops assist battery range of battery operated auto-rickshaws[3].

Mader (2006) also examined that substituting the diesel and petroleum operated vehicles by plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) such as battery operated auto-rickshaw results 35-50% reduction in nitric oxide and reactive organic gases, 45-065% reduction in petroleum usage and 30-045% reduction in greenhouse gases in city areas. Just because the battery operated auto-rickshaw generates least pollution diesel-operated three-wheelers (the so-called “tempo”) has recently been relocated by the Government of Nepal out of the Kathmandu valley to encourage the use of battery-operated three-wheelers (easy bikes) to curb air pollution (Mohan, 2007).

Also easybikes can play an important role in the urban transportation system as an intermediate mode of transport. Easybike also has brought a revolutionary change in socio-economic structure of urban areas. Significantly lower capital investment than conventional buses or minibuses has made easybikes to be more attractive to the private owners. Easybike operators generally come from the poor section of a city. From the operators point of view, easybike driving creates no harm to their social status. Even the poor college or university students can operate easybike and make income without hampering their social status.

From the users point of view this mode also provides comfortable and convenient travel with sufficient safety because of its limited travel speed which is not more than 50 km/hour (Haque, The Daily Star, 2011). Also because of lightweight battery operated auto-rickshaw can’t produce fatal accidents among pedestrians and bi-cyclists who are the majority in almost all the cities of Bangladesh (Mohan, 2007). However, easybikes also involves some disadvantages namely shorter life cycle of battery and the most crucial issues often discussed in national level which is regarding its energy consumption.

Increasing number of easybikes throughout the country have created much pressure on national electricity supply. A top official of Bangladesh Power Development Board said two-thirds of the battery-run rickshaws run on pilfered electricity connecting metal hooks directly with supply lines, while the rest depend on plugging into domestic connections, neither of which is acceptable. A commercially-run vehicle has to pay for power at commercial rates (Ali, The Daily Star, 30 May 2011).