Dhaka: rickshaw capital of the world

Urban transport concepts in the global South, often promoted by organisations such as the World Bank, aim to encourage motorised private transport – at the expense of non-motorised forms, which have proven cheap and environmentally friendly there over the past century. In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, bans are being imposed on bicycle rickshaws on more and more roads. By Dominik Müller

Rickshaws are the most popular means of transport in Dhaka, followed by public buses, walking and motorised two-wheelers. With a share of five percent of total traffic, cars bring up the rear
Nevertheless, more than one million cars are registered in the greater Dhaka area. During peak hours, they clog the roads: though their share of transport is small, they occupy more than half of the sealed traffic routes. Average speed during rush hours: five kilometres per hour
Officially, about three quarters of the population are literate. The proportion among rickshaw drivers is lower; they come from educationally deprived backgrounds. Many have to have regulations and driving bans read to them
Inland port of Shadarghat: of the nearly 2,000 migrants from other parts of Bangladesh who arrive in Dhaka every day, many try to eke out a living as unskilled labourers, rubbish collectors or rickshaw drivers
Some rickshaw drivers earn extra money as advertisers: a loudspeaker is used to broadcast the merits of a cheap network provider or newly opened shop on a continuous loop
Rickshaw drivers and their families cannot afford a flat in the new high-rise buildings of the middle class. They live in the Dhaka slums or in makeshift shelters at the side of the road
A rickshaw can also be a place to sleep – as it is every now and then during the day for this driver, who takes children to school every day and then picks them up again and delivers them individually to their homes
The rickshaws are rolling works of art and custom-painted
Some of the paintings convey hopes and dreams of untouched, wild nature
Other images display fantasies of beautiful women and armed machos
Numerous studies and government advisors are calling for Dhaka's traffic to speed up. So the slowest and most environmentally friendly participants – the rickshaws – are being forced to give way