Idea: Stretch E-rickshaws for isolation

gogo

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Could stretch electric rickshaws be a useful tool for transporting people? Chalo?
 
gogo said:
Could stretch electric rickshaws be a useful tool for transporting people? Chalo?

Chalo is not here anymore, he moved on.

A stretched electric rickshaw would be an interesting project. You have the room to store it?
How much power do you want, like 10kw?
 
Personally, I would keep it in the USA bicycle category for speed. Too much regulation otherwise. Nobody cares if you're using more than allowed power to get up hills, speed is the main focus of the authorities.

Going forward since CV, isolation will have a much higher value. Public transport is doomed. I'm thinking there might be a market for E-rickshaw taxis until autonomous vehicles with disinfectant cycles are available.
 
you may have handling issues.

let's say your original trike was 12 feet long. (mgiht be longer).

let's say you add six feet for better "isolation" between rider and passengers.

now it's 18 feet long....


if you want spaced-out passenger seating sections to isolate individual passengers, youre adding six feet (or more) between each section, so you add six feet for every passenger you want to carry. for three passengers, you add 18 feet to your original 12 feet.... now it's 30 feet long.


you would need to determine exactly what it is you want this "isolation" to be, or do, and how you expect the passengers and rider / driver to feel about it, and the situations in which it will be used, to determine if it is practical or not.


none of that even talks about legality...that would depend on the individual locality it is used in; they've all got their own specific rules not just about trikes/bicycles, and then e-whatevers on top of that, but also about pedicabs themselves (any form of motor is totally illegal in some of them, for instance).
 
Where I am, pedicabs for hire are limited by ordinance to 10 feet overall length. I can imagine an enclosed passenger cabin that would isolate passenger from driver, but it is too hot here most of the year to enjoy an arrangement like that. Keeping the enclosure disinfected would be a chore, too.

Pedicab drivers and owners were among the first here to get hosed out of a job, as soon as SXSW was cancelled. It’s all been bad news for them since then.
 
Since when did a RICKSHAW suddenly become a Pedicab ?
..Rickshaw, also spelled ricksha, also called jinrikisha or jinrickshaw, (from Japanese: “human-powered vehicle”), two-wheeled vehicle with a doorless, chairlike body and a collapsible hood, which holds one or two passengers and is drawn by a man between two shafts.
Pedicab | Definition of Pedicab by Merriam-Webster
· Pedicab definition is - a tricycle with a 2-seat passenger compartment covered by a usually folding top and a separate seat for a driver who pedals
 
People will not look up a dictionary word for clarification. They see a rickshaw and see that it has two wheel, is long, has a sitting area, then correlate that to a pedicab. Its human nature. What is a good analogy???? Heres one, a moped vs motorcycle or hey, an ebike vs moped vs motorcycle. Some view ebikes as oh it has a motor so its a moped or motorcycle. What I'm saying is the casual eye will relate whatever they see into what looks similar. An orange colored tomatoe is not an Orange, but a quick look and many would say it is.
 
Hillhater said:
Since when did a RICKSHAW suddenly become a Pedicab ?

Since pedicabs. Don't believe me? Have a look:
https://www.google.com/search?q=rickshaw&tbm=isch
 
Google ...the ultimate reference ?
This is why we have a language with different words to describe different objects.
The fact that someone corrupts or doesnt understand the correct term , or “thinks” a pedicab is a Rickshaw, posts on Wiki , youtube, google , or even here on ES,.........does not mean it is correct or should be accepted.
And in the context of this discussion, there is a huge difference between a rickshaw and a Pedicab.! :roll:
 
Hillhater said:
And in the context of this discussion, there is a huge difference between a rickshaw and a Pedicab.! :roll:
there is. and an e-rickshaw is certainly possible; wheelchair and powerchair type motor systems would work well enough in the cab's wheels as hubmotors or as an indirect (mid) drive to the axle of the wheels, etc., to reduce the load the rickshaw operator has to physically move. possibly operated like the handrail operated wheelchair motors, that detect you pushing the chair and then it just helps; when you stop pushing it stops assisting. or like the kickscooters that just give a boost each time you kick. or a hand-control of some type on the operator handles, along with an ebrake of some form (just in case).

but because an actual rickshaw wouldn't be usable in most places and situations (in the usa, at least, which is where the op lives) that would need this general style of transportation (very small groups, individuals), i made the presumption that he *meant* pedicab, and continued from there.

even an e-rickshaw would be too slow (walking or at best a slow jogging speed, as the operator must sustain this all day), and not accepted in cities except in certain very limited specific places (parks, for instance), because they could not be used on roads due to other traffic, and couldn't be used on sidewalks due to their size/width, assuming at least enough width for two large people to fit comfortably side by side between the wheels. they would block all other traffic from passing them, and in many places wouldn't even fit on the too-narrow sidewalk at all; similarly most bicycle lanes are too narrow for them.

so the rickshaws simply don't have much of anywhere they can be practically used, vs the need the op is describing.


e-pedicabs could at least be used on slower roads if their speeds are allowed to be high enough (20mph), and those speeds would make them practical to use for much longer distances than the rickshaw. still too wide for many sidewalks and bike lanes. so while still slow, relative to many other forms of public transport, it can still go places and it can go long distances, and still be fast enough to be useful for a lot of people.


whether they would actually use it depends on the alternatives available to them, and their specific needs, and level of patience.
 
Hillhater said:
Since when did a RICKSHAW suddenly become a Pedicab ?
..Rickshaw, also spelled ricksha, also called jinrikisha or jinrickshaw, (from Japanese: “human-powered vehicle”), two-wheeled vehicle with a doorless, chairlike body and a collapsible hood, which holds one or two passengers and is drawn by a man between two shafts.
Pedicab | Definition of Pedicab by Merriam-Webster
· Pedicab definition is - a tricycle with a 2-seat passenger compartment covered by a usually folding top and a separate seat for a driver who pedals

I stand corrected. E-pedicab it is.

I'm onto my next idea, now: Dining pods. Your favorite restaurant sends an autonomous dining pod to pick you up and bring you to connect to the restaurant's 'station', thereby creating dining isolation from everybody except your own party.
 
Hillhater said:
The fact that someone corrupts or doesnt understand the correct term , or “thinks” a pedicab is a Rickshaw, posts on Wiki , youtube, google , or even here on ES,.........does not mean it is correct or should be accepted.

Well, by your reasoning, this is the only thing that should ever be called a car:

Celtic-Chariot-2.jpg


Using the word "car" for anything else would be a corruption or failure of understanding.
 
Balmorhea said:
Hillhater said:
The fact that someone corrupts or doesnt understand the correct term , or “thinks” a pedicab is a Rickshaw, posts on Wiki , youtube, google , or even here on ES,.........does not mean it is correct or should be accepted.

Well, by your reasoning, this is the only thing that should ever be called a car:

Celtic-Chariot-2.jpg


Using the word "car" for anything else would be a corruption or failure of understanding.
Do you want to try to explain your logic for that ?
It is not “by my reasoning”,..its by the dictionary definitions as quoted.
Here is another dictionary definition for you to ponder..
car
noun [ C ]
UK /kɑːr/ US /kɑːr/
A1
a road vehicle with an engine, four wheels, and seats for a small number of people:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/car
 
FYI there are so many different dictionaries online.

Oxford Dictionary sounds legit, I remember the old large Oxford Dictionary books in the library that collected dust and was open to a certain page for decades now.
 
markz said:
FYI there are so many different dictionaries online.

Right. I didn't even look for one. I typed "rickshaw" into a search engine, and screenshot the definition that came in as the top result.

Hillhater doesn't know that "rickshaw" means pedicab for the last hundred years or so, but the rest of the world knows.
 
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