I want to buy a Tuk Tuk.
Discussion
Or "baby taxi", as the Bengali call them.
I have my heart set on a Tuk Tuk as a "fun" vehicle, I cannot see a journey that can't be made more fun by driving there in a Tuk Tuk. Motorways and fast A-roads exempted!
So I was wondering - PH has an incredibly wealth of knowledge. Can I drive one on a car licence? I'll be garaging mine but can I potentially leave it in a Tesco car park without someone nicking it? How is insurance/servicing? I'd imagine the latter to be quite cheap and/or simple as they must be simple to work on if they're sold aplenty in the East.
You just know a Sunday Service is going to be so much better with a Tuk Tuk parked amongst the GT-Rs and 911s. Maybe best to avoid any convoy/tunnel runs though.
I have my heart set on a Tuk Tuk as a "fun" vehicle, I cannot see a journey that can't be made more fun by driving there in a Tuk Tuk. Motorways and fast A-roads exempted!
So I was wondering - PH has an incredibly wealth of knowledge. Can I drive one on a car licence? I'll be garaging mine but can I potentially leave it in a Tesco car park without someone nicking it? How is insurance/servicing? I'd imagine the latter to be quite cheap and/or simple as they must be simple to work on if they're sold aplenty in the East.
You just know a Sunday Service is going to be so much better with a Tuk Tuk parked amongst the GT-Rs and 911s. Maybe best to avoid any convoy/tunnel runs though.
Cheers chaps. Glad to hear I haven't got to fall off one of them motorbicycles before I get one 
Already know where to get them from, I want the black and yellow sort - but just wanted to know what it's like living with one. I'd imagine it's like owning a very slow and unstable quad bike.
I actually want to keep the original engine in it. I have fond memories of sitting in one in 'desh back in the 90s getting high off the two-stroke fumes coming from somewhere behind me.
I have a massive soft spot for baby taxis - they're such a simple yet brilliant piece of mechanical crafting. I find the trivia very interesting too - in Bangladesh, for example, a country sitting on a huge pile of natural gas, in order to reduce pollution the government made it illegal for public-licenced baby taxis to run on petrol. As a result, every single baby taxi in the country was converted to run on CNG and repainted green. Makes me feel nostalgic at the prime old age of 24.
Similarly, whenever it starts raining, because the engines are mounted so low (as passengers essentially sit on top of them), any floodwater (also common in 'desh because of its low sea level and lack of drainage) means baby taxi engines take on water and stall/hydrolock. It's not uncommon to hear abuse from passing rickshaws when sitting in a baby taxi that's stalled due to the floodwaters.
Also, modern baby taxis have mesh grille doors on each side. When stopped in traffic, the lack of doors (to protect against rain, occupants had a simple leather skin they could roll down from the top of the vehicle) meant that thieves could jump in and steal your phone/wallet/children. Therefore a rather ugly mesh door was put on the back just to help with the claustrophobia.
Finally at the same time the CNG act came about, all baby taxis were fitted with a meter (not unlike Western taxis). However most meters are out of service, either because they've taken on water and fried the electronics, or they weren't fitted properly, or the driver didn't like the rates the meter offered or indeed the meter itself was nicked.
Sorry. Went off on a tangent a bit.
ETA - sorry for any spelling. My new wireless keyboard seems to be affected by the wireless central heating frequencies.
Already know where to get them from, I want the black and yellow sort - but just wanted to know what it's like living with one. I'd imagine it's like owning a very slow and unstable quad bike.
I actually want to keep the original engine in it. I have fond memories of sitting in one in 'desh back in the 90s getting high off the two-stroke fumes coming from somewhere behind me.
I have a massive soft spot for baby taxis - they're such a simple yet brilliant piece of mechanical crafting. I find the trivia very interesting too - in Bangladesh, for example, a country sitting on a huge pile of natural gas, in order to reduce pollution the government made it illegal for public-licenced baby taxis to run on petrol. As a result, every single baby taxi in the country was converted to run on CNG and repainted green. Makes me feel nostalgic at the prime old age of 24.
Similarly, whenever it starts raining, because the engines are mounted so low (as passengers essentially sit on top of them), any floodwater (also common in 'desh because of its low sea level and lack of drainage) means baby taxi engines take on water and stall/hydrolock. It's not uncommon to hear abuse from passing rickshaws when sitting in a baby taxi that's stalled due to the floodwaters.
Also, modern baby taxis have mesh grille doors on each side. When stopped in traffic, the lack of doors (to protect against rain, occupants had a simple leather skin they could roll down from the top of the vehicle) meant that thieves could jump in and steal your phone/wallet/children. Therefore a rather ugly mesh door was put on the back just to help with the claustrophobia.
Finally at the same time the CNG act came about, all baby taxis were fitted with a meter (not unlike Western taxis). However most meters are out of service, either because they've taken on water and fried the electronics, or they weren't fitted properly, or the driver didn't like the rates the meter offered or indeed the meter itself was nicked.
Sorry. Went off on a tangent a bit.
ETA - sorry for any spelling. My new wireless keyboard seems to be affected by the wireless central heating frequencies.
Slidingpillar said:
Provided you are over 21, or passed your car test before 19 January 2013.
A simple and mostly sensible situation made idiotic by the third European Driving licence directive.
Even better! That means my sister can't nick it!A simple and mostly sensible situation made idiotic by the third European Driving licence directive.
(agree that the EU driving licence b
ks is rubbish though)ETA:
longshot said:
I think the correct term is an Auto Rickshaw.
True - but "baby taxi" is Bengali colloquialism. It's like how we refer to Range Rovers as FFRRs or countersteering in a slide as a dab of oppo.Edited by sebhaque on Monday 22 September 22:43
poing said:
That was really interesting! I love PH for this kind of thing, we have to wade through several tons of pointless crap but every now and then someone posts something genuinely new and interesting. Thanks for that.
ETA: You're insane, good luck!
ETA: You're insane, good luck!
I have loads of useless trivia to post about baby taxis. A few more bits of info - baby taxis share wheel sizes with a lot of basic powered and non-powered vehicles of the same size. In third-world countries, something as trivial as tyre matching is unheard of. It's common to see baby taxis with mismatched wheels, let alone tyres. Before I post more trivia, here's a thumbnail (click the pic for a full version) of a baby taxi as I now know them:
The bigger brother of the baby taxi is known as a tempo in Bangladesh. Imagine an estate Tuk Tuk - they're not the same as Thai Tuk Tuks. Tempos have a rear cabin with two opposing bench seats. In the UK the official capacity (including driver) would probably be 5. In 'desh it's about 14. Here's a thumb - taken off a phone so bear with the quality.
Baby taxis have a strange combination of a twist throttle as you'd find on a bike, but a foot-operated brake pedal like a car. Since they're CVT, it's a little unusual to have your arm doing the accelerating and your foot doing the braking.
Generally, baby taxis in 'desh don't have wing mirrors. They last for about an hour after they leave the factory and are usually snipped off while nipping between traffic. Most larger vehicles do not have any form of brake lights. As in - the rear panels of buses and trucks do not even have provisions for lights. No indicators, brake lights, sidelights or anything.
In the US they have school buses to transport kids to and from school. Here's a Bengali school bus:
Here's a pic I dug up re stranded baby taxis in the floods. A common sight in the monsoon season.
With all that said it's still a fascinating country. Because of the overpopulation there, labour is cheap and opportunities are quite vast (for low-paid jobs). The private security business is huge in 'desh because of corruption - most villages/areas of residence hire personal security 24/7. If you earn anywhere near the national average you have servants. They live in their own corner of the house that you don't even see. Your servants will do everything housework-y - when I was introduced to the servants in my cousin's house, I felt guilty in asking them to re-make my bed in the morning, cook me steak and eggs for breakfast, clean up after my shower and wash, dry and iron my clothes for me. This is basic living in Bangladesh and my cousin's driver is not only ready to drive 24/7, but also childminds my nephew while my cousin and his wife are at work.
Probably sounds incredibly backwards but unfortunately it's the way in a third-world country. I would much prefer people to be servants and living safely in a nice area as opposed to the guys I saw selling fruit at a railway.
Rubin215 said:
If you want to blow six grand just on having a laugh, take some mates to Amsterdam for a week...
That's only a week of fun - all I'll have to show for the months after are several STDs and avoiding company drug tests. I could have a Tuk Tuk for a year and enjoy every journey I make in it. Even driving to workk.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff