Redesigning "ugly" rickshaws
- Vijaymohan Chandrahasan
- Feb 24
- 5 min read
I recently asked DALL·E to dream up a radically updated auto rickshaw. The results were spectacular on the surface: sleek curves, enclosed cabins, digital dashboards, and advanced comfort features. It all looked so futuristic compared to the unassuming three-wheelers common in India, Southeast Asia, parts of Africa, and Latin America. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realised that just because these concepts appear “better” doesn’t mean they’d actually work in practice.
By “design,” I’m talking about everything people might look for in a vehicle: the way it looks, its features, safety, speed, maintenance demands, and ultimately how it fits into daily life. It’s undeniable that rickshaws leave a lot to be desired if we line them up against modern cars - there’s limited safety, minimal comfort, little in the way of speed, and an aesthetic some might call ‘rough.’ But rickshaws have persisted in roughly the same form for decades, across continents, for a reason.
The global spread of a near universal design
Travel through major cities like Mumbai, Bangkok, or Nairobi, and you’ll see rickshaws weaving between cars, lining up near train stations, and idling at traffic lights. Although local variations exist - different colours, slightly varied canopies, or diverse engine options - the core format is strikingly consistent: three wheels, a small engine, thin metal panels, and a partially open cabin.
It’s not that nobody’s ever tried to improve upon this. It’s that the existing recipe is attuned to real-world constraints:
Affordability: Drivers can buy or lease rickshaws at relatively low cost, enabling them to start earning quickly. Passengers, in turn, pay modest fares.
Easy fixes: The majority of breakdowns can be handled at small local garages, sometimes using nothing more than basic tools and spare parts.
City agility: Short trips, stop-start traffic, and narrow lanes make raw speed irrelevant. Instead, rickshaws excel at weaving through congestion with a small turning radius and decent fuel efficiency.
Compared to that, the AI’s futuristic pods - while undoubtedly appealing - could easily tip the balance: bigger engines for more speed, heavier materials for advanced safety, and electronics for comfort would raise manufacturing costs and complicate maintenance, in turn threatening the rickshaw’s fundamental accessibility.
Where a sleek design might backfire
It’s perfectly understandable to want rickshaws with smoother lines, air conditioning, or even advanced safety equipment. People often imagine how great it’d be if rickshaws resembled compact cars - fully enclosed, quieter, and quicker. But each “improvement” can have unintended side effects:
Cost escalation: High-grade materials, bigger engines, or tech-driven dashboards make vehicles pricier to build and buy. Drivers on tight budgets may find themselves priced out, and passengers might face higher fares.
Maintenance headaches: A smashed digital display, for example, could require specialist parts or certified technicians - something fundamentally at odds with the rickshaw’s current repair ecosystem of local workshops and quick fixes.
Over-optimisation for speed or comfort: In a city like Bangkok, where average traffic speeds can be painfully slow, doubling the horsepower doesn’t help much. Meanwhile, more weight or bulk could diminish the rickshaw’s trademark agility.
That’s not to say we should avoid all innovation. We do see incremental changes: some rickshaws adopt electric or CNG engines to reduce emissions, or add slightly sturdier frames. But these updates remain incremental rather than revolutionary. They respect the core trade-offs that have allowed rickshaws to flourish globally.
The tricky reality of “wants” vs. “needs”
Yes, there’s much people might want from rickshaws—greater safety standards, more powerful braking systems, better seats, or even a decent sound system. There’s also the allure of a slick, modern design that matches sleek cars on the road. But rickshaws often cater to what local populations need in their daily lives:
Short, cheap trips in heavily congested areas.
Lower entry barriers for drivers who need an income source without significant capital.
Simple upkeep, ensuring vehicles can return to service quickly without costly downtime.
So while a top speed of 80 km/h or an enclosed, air-conditioned cabin might look great in a brochure, it may not solve the everyday problems these vehicles were created to address - and can, in fact, introduce new ones.
It’s easy to assume good design must be sleek, efficient, and impressive. But good design is also about real-world fit. Rickshaws show that a vehicle can look unsophisticated and still be brilliantly attuned to its environment. For example:
Access to repairs matters more than elegant detailing for a driver whose livelihood depends on constant operation.
Low fares can outweigh a plush ride for passengers using rickshaws for short hops to the metro station or local market.
Extreme manoeuvrability beats high top speeds when you spend most of the trip wading through traffic at a snail’s pace.
By focusing on these fundamentals, rickshaws achieve a form of success that a too-advanced design might undermine.
Evolving carefully without losing the essence
That isn’t to say rickshaws should never change. Indeed, they’re slowly evolving in various ways:
Cleaner energy: Electric and CNG-powered rickshaws have cropped up, helping reduce emissions while retaining the familiar shape.
Improved canopies and safety: Some models now come with reinforced frames or partial enclosures to shield passengers from extreme weather or minor collisions.
Incremental comforts: Cushioned seating, better lighting, or digital fare meters are becoming more common in some regions.
These modifications make sense as long as they don’t compromise affordability, lightweight construction, and the ability to fix a rickshaw quickly, almost anywhere. A wholesale reinvention runs the risk of pricing out existing drivers and losing local repair networks.
The future: a steady evolution
It’s possible that one day we’ll see something entirely different - maybe drone-like taxis that can match or outdo rickshaws in cost-effectiveness. If such a product emerges that genuinely preserves what makes rickshaws vital while delivering extra benefits, a transformative shift might happen. Until then, the reason rickshaws stay in roughly the same shape across the globe boils down to practicality.
At its core, good design is about meeting real needs in a sustainable way. It’s not a matter of piling on features or pursuing maximum speed; rather, it’s finding that balance where cost, simplicity, and functionality meet. Rickshaws might look rough around the edges, but they address the daily constraints of countless riders and drivers better than many sleeker, more sophisticated concepts ever could.
Final thoughts: understanding before “improving”
Ultimately, the story of the rickshaw highlights an important lesson: before we rush to upgrade something, we have to understand why it exists in its current form. Auto rickshaws may seem outdated, lacking in speed and safety, but their design has persevered because it nails the essentials for the user base. Each flashy improvement risks altering a delicate balance - potentially raising costs, complicating maintenance, or reducing agility.
In a decade or two, who knows? We may see affordable flying contraptions that replace everything on the road. Yet until a new solution can truly beat rickshaws on price, reliability, and practicality, these three-wheeled icons aren’t going anywhere.
Rickshaws remain a prime example of design driven by real-world demands - proving that “ugly” or “old-fashioned” can still be powerful when it meets the genuine needs of the people who rely on it every day.
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