Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Prospects and Challenges of E-Rickshaws in Urban Transportation Systems of Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rangpur City Corporation

Received: 6 March 2024     Accepted: 25 March 2024     Published: 29 April 2024
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

The availability of public transportation is frequently insufficient and the quality of the services is quite low in many cities of developing country. This is mostly because of the growing discrepancy between the supply and demand for transportation infrastructure and the provision of services. As a result, E-rickshaws (battery-operated electric three-wheelers locally termed as Auto/Easy bike) have emerged as a form of para-transit/informal public transport in many developing country cities and providing flexible and demand-responsive services to users. E-rickshaws are becoming one of the main travel modes and playing a crucial role in urban mobility because bus-based or formal public transportation is lacking in many medium- and small-sized cities in Bangladesh. This study made an effort to answer how E-rickshaws might function in the future when public bus service will be launched in a mixed traffic situation of Bangladesh. Rangpur in Bangladesh was selected as the representative of developing country cities for conducting the case study. This study is generally based on primary survey because the E-rickshaw is a new concept in urban transport. Primary data were collected at different road intersections and some temporary E-rickshaw stands in Rangpur City (as no permanent E-rickshaw stand in the city). Basically, the data was collected by Questionnaires Survey with E-rickshaw Drivers and Users; Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with E-rickshaw union members and Key Informants Interview (KII) with local authorities who are concerned with E-rickshaws. The driver-owned, operational E-rickshaw has an income-investment ratio of 1.45 and generates an average daily income of BDT 850. According to the survey, 81% of the drivers of E-rickshaws agreed that their current financial situation or income is better than it was when they worked in another or previous occupation. Compared with other travel modes, commuters are very satisfied with the quality of E-rickshaw services. Based on study findings it may be concluded that the E-rickshaw is a potential future-proof means of transportation. Public transport planning should include E-rickshaw in providing services which may not be catered by the formal public transport. The conclusions drawn from this case study is that locations may be applied to other places in the country or cities where rickshaws are a significant source of informal public transportation.

Published in American Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12
Page(s) 29-40
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

E-rickshaw, Public Bus, Para-Transit, Informal Public Mode, Public Transport Planning

References
[1] Cervero, R., & Golub, A. (2007). Informal transport: A global perspective. Transport policy, 14(6), 445-457.
[2] Shimazaki, T., & Rahman, M. (1996). Physical characteristics of paratransit in developing countries of Asia. Journal of advanced transportation, 30(2), 5-24.
[3] Basri, R., Khatun, T., Reza, M. S., & Khan, M. M. H. (2014). Changing modes of transportation: A case study of rajshahi city corporation. Bangladesh J. Pol. Econ, 29(3), 1-23.
[4] Rahman, F., Haque, F., Ehsan, MT., Rahman, M.M., and Hadiuzzaman, M. (2017). “Determination of user’s perception of para-transit service quality in Dhaka city based on user’s perception.” Inter Journal of Education and Applied Science, 7, Issue 1: 19-24. ISSN: 2249-4944.
[5] Hossain, F., Roy, S. S., & Mitra, S. K. (2012). Battery Operated Auto-rickshaw and Its Role in Urban Income and Employment Generation. International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, 1(5), 223-227. Retrieved from
[6] Khan, Z. R. (2018). Final Report on the Efficient Charging System for Electric Three Wheelers. REEP, GIZ: Dhaka, Bangladesh. Available at:
[7] Rana, S., Hossain, F., Roy, S. S., & Mitra, S. K. (2013). The role of battery operated auto-rickshaw in the transportation system of a city. Journal of Asian Electric Vehicles, 11(1), 1635-1644.
[8] Ali, T. (2019, March 19). Battery rickshaws run out of steam. The Daily Star. Retrieved from
[9] Taiyab, N. (2007). Transportation in Mega-Cities: A Local Issue, A Global Question. Population (English Edition). Boston. 1-8.
[10] Schipper, L. (2010). Car Crazy: The Perils of Asia's Hyper-Motorization. Global Asia, 4(4), 48-55.
[11] Reddy, K. S., Aravindhan, S., & Mallick, T. K. (2017). Techno-economic investigation of solar powered electric auto-rickshaw for a sustainable transport system. Energies, 10(6), 754.
[12] Andaleeb, S. S., Haq, M., & Ahmed, R. I. (2007). Reforming innercity bus transportation in a developing country: A passenger-driven model. Journal of Public Transportation, 10(1), 1-25.
[13] Ng, C., & Yi, S. (2016). Rethinking Sustainable Mobility: Understanding the use of boda-boda motorcycle taxis in Kampala, Uganda. IIIEE Masters Thesis.
[14] Joewono, T. B., & Kubota, H. (2007). User satisfaction with paratransit in competition with motorization in Indonesia: anticipation of future implications. Transportation, 34, 337-354.
[15] Vuchic, V. R. (2007). Urban transit systems and technology. John Wiley & Sons.
[16] Baker, J. (2005). ‘Urban Poverty and Transport: The Case of Mumbai’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3693. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
[17] Tiwari, G. (2003). Transport and land-use policies in Delhi. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 81(6), 444-450.
[18] Senbil, M., Fujiwara, A., Zhang, J., & Asri, D. U. (2005, July). Development of a choice model for evaluating sustainable urban form. In Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (Vol. 5, pp. 2164-2178).
[19] Neumann, A, & Nagel, K. (2011). A Para-transit-Inspired Evolutionary Process For Public Transit Network Design. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting pp. 1–16.
[20] Cervero, R. (2000). Informal Transport In the Developing World., pp.117–144.
[21] Dhakal, D. S. (2005). Role of Government, private sector and civic society in promoting battery operated electric three-wheelers in Kathmandu, Nepal. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Kitakyushu Office, 19.
[22] Khan, A. and Rahman, M. M. (2019). “Road Management System (RMS) for a Neighborhood” in the In 1st International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning, 5-6 October, 2019, pp. 417-424. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
[23] Akter, J., Shawon, M. T. A., & Rahman, M. M. (2021). Urban density influence on travel and mode choice behavior of Savar municipality: Household survey study. Journal of Transportation Engineering and Traffic Management, 2(2), 1-20.
[24] Rahman, M. M., & Ritu, S. (2018). An Analysis of Corridor Planning to Enhance the Multimodal Service: Case Study of ‘Gabtoli to Farmgate’Route. The Jahangirnagar Review, Part II: Social Sciences, 39, 91-103.
[25] Rahman, M. M., & Kabir, M. H. (2021). Mode Choice Behavior Modeling and Discovering Public Preferences for Office Trip: A Case Study in Uttara Satellite Town. Journal of Interior Designing and Regional Planning, 6(1).
[26] Fahim, A. U., Rahman, M. M., Abir, F. A., & Bhuiyan, M. A. F. (2022). An investigation of users’ perception on non-motorized transport services in a municipality area: A cross-sectional study on Pabna municipality. Case studies on transport policy, 10(1), 657-663.
[27] Rahman, M. M., & Kabir, M. H. (2021). Office Trip Comfort Perception Based on Passenger Travel Behavior: A Case Study in Uttara Satellite Town. Journal of Transportation Engineering and Traffic Management, 2(1), 1-13.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Pramanik, M. A., Rahman, M. S., Fahim, A. U., Rahman, M. M. (2024). Prospects and Challenges of E-Rickshaws in Urban Transportation Systems of Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rangpur City Corporation. American Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, 9(2), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Pramanik, M. A.; Rahman, M. S.; Fahim, A. U.; Rahman, M. M. Prospects and Challenges of E-Rickshaws in Urban Transportation Systems of Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rangpur City Corporation. Am. J. Traffic Transp. Eng. 2024, 9(2), 29-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Pramanik MA, Rahman MS, Fahim AU, Rahman MM. Prospects and Challenges of E-Rickshaws in Urban Transportation Systems of Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rangpur City Corporation. Am J Traffic Transp Eng. 2024;9(2):29-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12,
      author = {Md. Ashrafuzzaman Pramanik and M. Shafiq-Ur Rahman and Ashraf Uddin Fahim and Mohammad Mizanur Rahman},
      title = {Prospects and Challenges of E-Rickshaws in Urban Transportation Systems of Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rangpur City Corporation
    },
      journal = {American Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {29-40},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajtte.20240902.12},
      abstract = {The availability of public transportation is frequently insufficient and the quality of the services is quite low in many cities of developing country. This is mostly because of the growing discrepancy between the supply and demand for transportation infrastructure and the provision of services. As a result, E-rickshaws (battery-operated electric three-wheelers locally termed as Auto/Easy bike) have emerged as a form of para-transit/informal public transport in many developing country cities and providing flexible and demand-responsive services to users. E-rickshaws are becoming one of the main travel modes and playing a crucial role in urban mobility because bus-based or formal public transportation is lacking in many medium- and small-sized cities in Bangladesh. This study made an effort to answer how E-rickshaws might function in the future when public bus service will be launched in a mixed traffic situation of Bangladesh. Rangpur in Bangladesh was selected as the representative of developing country cities for conducting the case study. This study is generally based on primary survey because the E-rickshaw is a new concept in urban transport. Primary data were collected at different road intersections and some temporary E-rickshaw stands in Rangpur City (as no permanent E-rickshaw stand in the city). Basically, the data was collected by Questionnaires Survey with E-rickshaw Drivers and Users; Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with E-rickshaw union members and Key Informants Interview (KII) with local authorities who are concerned with E-rickshaws. The driver-owned, operational E-rickshaw has an income-investment ratio of 1.45 and generates an average daily income of BDT 850. According to the survey, 81% of the drivers of E-rickshaws agreed that their current financial situation or income is better than it was when they worked in another or previous occupation. Compared with other travel modes, commuters are very satisfied with the quality of E-rickshaw services. Based on study findings it may be concluded that the E-rickshaw is a potential future-proof means of transportation. Public transport planning should include E-rickshaw in providing services which may not be catered by the formal public transport. The conclusions drawn from this case study is that locations may be applied to other places in the country or cities where rickshaws are a significant source of informal public transportation.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Prospects and Challenges of E-Rickshaws in Urban Transportation Systems of Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rangpur City Corporation
    
    AU  - Md. Ashrafuzzaman Pramanik
    AU  - M. Shafiq-Ur Rahman
    AU  - Ashraf Uddin Fahim
    AU  - Mohammad Mizanur Rahman
    Y1  - 2024/04/29
    PY  - 2024
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12
    T2  - American Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering
    SP  - 29
    EP  - 40
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-8604
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtte.20240902.12
    AB  - The availability of public transportation is frequently insufficient and the quality of the services is quite low in many cities of developing country. This is mostly because of the growing discrepancy between the supply and demand for transportation infrastructure and the provision of services. As a result, E-rickshaws (battery-operated electric three-wheelers locally termed as Auto/Easy bike) have emerged as a form of para-transit/informal public transport in many developing country cities and providing flexible and demand-responsive services to users. E-rickshaws are becoming one of the main travel modes and playing a crucial role in urban mobility because bus-based or formal public transportation is lacking in many medium- and small-sized cities in Bangladesh. This study made an effort to answer how E-rickshaws might function in the future when public bus service will be launched in a mixed traffic situation of Bangladesh. Rangpur in Bangladesh was selected as the representative of developing country cities for conducting the case study. This study is generally based on primary survey because the E-rickshaw is a new concept in urban transport. Primary data were collected at different road intersections and some temporary E-rickshaw stands in Rangpur City (as no permanent E-rickshaw stand in the city). Basically, the data was collected by Questionnaires Survey with E-rickshaw Drivers and Users; Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with E-rickshaw union members and Key Informants Interview (KII) with local authorities who are concerned with E-rickshaws. The driver-owned, operational E-rickshaw has an income-investment ratio of 1.45 and generates an average daily income of BDT 850. According to the survey, 81% of the drivers of E-rickshaws agreed that their current financial situation or income is better than it was when they worked in another or previous occupation. Compared with other travel modes, commuters are very satisfied with the quality of E-rickshaw services. Based on study findings it may be concluded that the E-rickshaw is a potential future-proof means of transportation. Public transport planning should include E-rickshaw in providing services which may not be catered by the formal public transport. The conclusions drawn from this case study is that locations may be applied to other places in the country or cities where rickshaws are a significant source of informal public transportation.
    
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Pabna University of Science and Technology, Pabna, Bangladesh

  • Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Pabna University of Science and Technology, Pabna, Bangladesh

  • Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Sections