Guide

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Driver behavior is also a concern. Training and other support for drivers is needed. In turn,
strategies are needed to enhance the ability of auto-rickshaws to provide these somewhat
more specialized paratransit services. One approach would be to modify all autorickshaws
with low-cost changes. Another approach would address the complexities of a
"sub-fleet" of adapted auto-rickshaws with better-trained drivers and an operational model
that addressed scheduling, dispatching, and the use of call centers to request services.
This approach, which is already being tested in New Delhi, also would lend itself to the
possible use of subsidies in some cities to better enable qualified disabled persons to use
the service. In all events, other alternatives are needed for those disabled passengers who
cannot transfer to a passenger seat. The use of auto-rickshaws must also focus on
creating an environmentally sustainable service, for example with less-polluting 4-stroke
engines instead of the 2-stroke engines used in some cities, as well as the use of CNG
(compressed natural gas) as an alternative to diesel fuel.
Folded wheelchair in auto-rickshaw at test session. - Photo by AEI
Another concern is that only some models of autorickshaws
have the interior space to accommodate
a folded wheelchair behind the passenger seat, in
a weatherproof compartment with a rain shield.
Alternatively, it is possible that a device to hold a
folded wheelchair could be affixed to the rear of the
exterior of the vehicle. However, no auto-rickshaw
model we have seen would permit a wheelchair
user to enter the vehicle in the wheelchair,
although this could be done by means of complex
modifications that would include hinging the rear or
side section of the vehicle.
* EMBARQ, Sustainable Urban Transport in India: Role of the Auto‐rickshaw Sector (2012), prepared by
Akshay Mani, Madhav Pai, and Rishi Aggarwal
This case study and the preceding discussion on new technologies were prepared by Tom
Rickert of Access Exchange International. Appreciation is expressed to Svayam, GNB
Motors Ltd., disabled volunteers Manish Gupta and Alok Sikka, and Dr. Kit Mitchell of the
UK, all of whom contributed to the success of the test session. We also thank Akshay Mani
and his colleagues with EMBARQ in India for personal correspondence.