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Now Asian tuk-tuks for London roads

Hsiao-Hung Pai- © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

But the black cabs will not give up easily: the new contraptions are termed `death traps'.

LONDON: The tuk-tuk, as it is known in Thailand, or the autorickshaw as it is known in India, have long been an integral part of the urban scenery of the east. Westerners who have been travelling there would recognise them, from their spluttering sound as much as their resemblance, as some of them would say, to a glorified lawnmower.

Now the tuk-tuks are on their way to Britain. A fleet of the South-East Asian motorised rickshaws, named after the sound of their stuttering engines, is destined for London to service London's theatregoers and revellers. But not without a fight.

Opposition

The plan has prompted the opposition of black-cab drivers who think this form of Third World transport is unsuited to the British capital.

Tuk-tuks combine the controls of a moped with car-like pedals and the chassis of a rickshaw.

In Laos and India they can accommodate up to six people, but the ones earmarked for the U.K., should Transport for London award a minicab licence to their importer, carry just three passengers and reach a top speed of 40 mph.

But London's cab drivers anxiously claim that the vehicles are potential death traps.

Bob Oddy, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association with 7,000 members, said: "Tuk-tuks tip over easily and are definitely dangerous. Safety is a top issue and we will be going back 100 years if they are allowed on the road, for private or public use."

He added: "In South-East Asia... they were used by poor people trying to scratch a living. This doesn't apply in London. There's no such demand here. This is just profit-making and putting people's lives at risk."

Safety requirements

Tuk-tuks have been brought into Britain since 2002 and sold for private use since 2003. "Tuk-tuks have met all the legal requirement for safety," said Steve Webb, the manager of Tukshop and importer of tuk-tuks.

"They are as good as the cabbies. And they will give the capital more culture and personality, and that will help tourism immensely."

Tuk-tuk supporters claim the vehicles are environmentally friendly, with low emissions, and cause less congestion than cars.

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