This activity, WBB Trust, is promoting efficient ways to move people within cities. Walking, cycling, and rickshaws are urban-friendly modes of transportation that are good for people's health, the environment, and employment.
Fast facts:
The problem
In 2004, the government in Dhaka had a detailed plan that would eliminate rickshaws on many roads in order to make cars flow more easily. This would have reduced the practicality of using rickshaws because they would no longer provide direct connections to key destinations. Staff at WBB Trust knew that to get policymakers to change their approach to rickshaws would require a change in public discussion.
The solution
This activity began in Bangladesh in 2004. It campaigned against a rickshaw ban being instituted in Dhaka that would have caused many of the city’s urban poor to lose their income source and many others to lose an important sustainable transportation option. The extensive communication work changed the ways the media discussed rickshaws from being almost entirely anti-rickshaw to being focused on the benefits of the rickshaws and the harm of the bans. In addition to its media work, WBB Trust organized workshops, developed strategic alliances, and held meetings with policymakers.
Helping the planet
Cycle rickshaws are an important pollution-free sustainable mode of transportation in Dhaka. They provide a low cost and accessible alternative to motor vehicles, which is particularly important for vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly. They are also an important source of income for the estimated 500,000 rickshaw pullers in Dhaka.
Helping people
This activity is encouraging healthy transportation. Encouraging walking, cycling, and public transit is a solution to many of Dhaka’s problems. Car-centric urban development in cities decreases people’s ability to move freely about the city and has a major impact on public health. Low-income groups, in particular, are affected by how their cities are designed because they have fewer transportation options. By encouraging people to walk, cycle, and, when necessary, to use public transit to reach the places they live, work and play we create safer, cleaner, healthier, and more social places.
Scaling Up
According to this activity, banning rickshaws is not a solution and it will exacerbate existing problems and the population’s current suffering. This activity aims to scale up by making people’s health, the state of the environment and non-motorised transport a priority in planning and infrastructure development.
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