The Bangladesh traffic system is the strongest evidence I’ve seen of an unseen benevolent deity looking after everyone on the road.
As a man drenched in British reservation throughout my upbringing, the idea of using the horn on a car makes me physically recoil: oh, the horror of causing a scene! Not so in Bangladesh where the horn is happily tooted at every possible opportunity. I’m behind you – toot! I’m beside you – toot!, I’m overtaking you, while you are overtaking a rickshaw that is overtaking another rickshaw – toot toot! – and oh look we’re doing this while careering towards us is a coach overtaking a lorry overtaking a …whatever that is – toot toot!
I became somewhat obsessed with the traffic on my recent research trip. Why/how does it work? – and it undeniably does work. Is there a kind of language or code to the toots?* Why is everyone so calm, and yet pounding the horn? How can you turn on a bicycle carrying a bundle of tree trunks?
The one thing that fascinated and impressed me most of all was at the bottom of the traffic food chain – the humble tricycle.
In rural areas they are everywhere — transporting goods, carrying people, animals. And the more I looked, the more I realised how much they symbolise practical, local innovation.
Locally repairable – Every village we passed seem to have at least one welder. Tricycles are built using parts people already understand. They are easily maintained without having to go far or order proprietary parts.
Manual and electric – The shift to electric is happening – and here’s the link to our project: perhaps surplus solar energy from irrigation systems could help charge them, creating a virtuous cycle of clean energy use. Bright Green Energy Foundation are already experimenting with solar powered EV charging stations.
Adaptable design – They are highly customisable. Some have seats, some have flatbeds, some are covered — whatever the job, the tricycle can be adapted. I can imagine attaching something to an electric one to use the motor to run a small threshing machine.
Road-friendly – They move at sensible speeds, and take up far less space than cars. Less congestion, more practicality. This may be a controversial viewpoint – an excellent research paper highlights the concern of increasing numbers of these vehicles adding to road congestion. More vehicles=more congestion – agreed, but surely it is better to have these small, clean, affordable vehicles than another Toyota minivan? Hypocrisy alert – we were driving around in a Toyota minivan!
With a global annual marketing spend of over $40bn making car ownership something many people aspire to, sadly I don’t think cars are likely to be eschewed in favour of tricycles any time soon. And there are notable downsides to tricycle life:
- Safety is a major issue, tricycles are not great at cornering, and there is little protection for the driver and passengers in the event of a road accident.
- As more people go electric, the grid system may come under pressure. There are several million tricycles in the country, so the impact could be considerable. Solar could be important here.
I’m still a huge fan. These tricycles are a great example of appropriate technology: affordable, maintainable, locally owned, and easy to integrate into everyday life. They are using readily available components rather than the very latest in battery or motor technology.
Sometimes the smartest solution isn’t the most high-tech — it’s the one that fits best.
#RuralInnovation #CleanTransport #Solar #Bangladesh #IoT #TechForGood