The Rickshaw Impulse Project (RIP) is led by a voluntary organisation which aims at improving the mechanical transmission of the cycle-rickshaws in South-Asia and South- East Asia, in order to : 1. Improve working conditions for the rickshaw drivers. 2. Strengthen the role of cycle-rickshaws as efficient, sustainable and environmentally- friendly local transport for urban and rural areas.

1. Presentation
Rickshaw Impulse Project

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Document of presentation – Rickshaw Impulse Project
RICKSHAW IMPULSE PROJECT
1. Plan
OUR AIM................................................................................................................. 3
WHO WE ARE.......................................................................................................... 3
THE CHALLENGE..................................................................................................... 3
OUR STRATEGIE ..................................................................................................... 4
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP.................................................................................. 4
GET INVOLVED ....................................................................................................... 5
CONTACT ................................................................................................................ 5
INTRODUCE OUR TEAM.......................................................................................... 6

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Document of presentation – Rickshaw Impulse Project
OUR AIM
The Rickshaw Impulse Project (RIP) is led by a voluntary organisation which aims at
improving the mechanical transmission of the cycle-rickshaws in South-Asia and South-
East Asia, in order to :
1. Improve working conditions for the rickshaw drivers.
2. Strengthen the role of cycle-rickshaws as efficient, sustainable and environmentally-
friendly local transport for urban and rural areas.
WHO WE ARE
RIP’s core team consists of six volunteers (all from Europe) who have a very good
knowledge of the environment of the rickshaw and South/South-East Asian countries.
We have a range of skills and experience that are relevant to rickshaw development,
including technical, social, economic and management skills. We also have a strong
personal interest in rickshaw development, through our first-hand experience of
pedalling the vehicles, and writing and researching about them.
We are building links with other organisations and individuals who are interested in
improving the rickshaws and the living conditions of the people who operate them.
THE CHALLENGE
The cycle-rickshaw has been a very popular means of transport in South and South-East
Asia since the 1950s, both for passengers and goods. Millions exist today, and their
numbers are increasing in many places.
However, the rickshaw-drivers have to cope with the rickshaw’s poor design, especially
its heavy frame, inappropriate single-speed transmission, poor suspension and energy-
consuming friction and drag. Pedalling in congested urban traffic is particularly difficult.
Apart from the application of battery-powered electrical assistance, few improvements
have been brought to rickshaws and the transmission system in particular.
The rickshaw-drivers, who seldom own their working tool, have to struggle hard to pay
for the rickshaw hire and generate enough income for themselves, and they remain
among the lowest paid in their country.

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Document of presentation – Rickshaw Impulse Project
OUR STRATEGIE
In the South and South-East Asian countries where rickshaws are used, they have an
important and efficient role to play in the local transport systems. They are low-cost,
low in fossil-fuel requirements, clean, quiet and a source of useful employment. The
battery-powered rickshaws are an innovative adaptation, but they are energy-
consuming and polluting (in terms of battery manufacture, charging and disposal). In
the Southeast Asian countries where rickshaws are used, the energy shortage is
recognized as a brake on growth. So, the motorized assistance, energy-intensive anyway,
does not appear suited to the energy context.
For these reasons, we are focusing on studies and research that will help to improve the
human-powered rickshaws’ mechanical transmission.
Emphasizing a Low Tech approach and value-engineering, namely "to design a product
perfectly suited to the needs of the user and at the lowest cost" the Rickshaw Impulse
Project aims at technical solutions that :
- Bring a substantial improvement for the transmission of rickshaws.
- Are of an accessible price.
- Can be duplicated with local resources.
- Are likely to be developed in free access
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP
The RIP's team aims to work with partner organisations and individuals in South and
South-East Asia such as NGO’s, higher education institutions and businesses, all having a
shared interest in rickshaw improvement.
The organisation will share and exchange knowledge about past and present initiatives
for improving the rickshaw’s design, and act as a facilitator for future initiatives.
We will encourage local economic players-partners of South and South-East Asia for the
production and implementation of low-cost technological innovations for rickshaw
improvement. We aim to anchor our action in the local economies specific to every
region, thus harnessing their local dynamism.
The organisation leans on partners whom it knew how to identify, such as other NGO,
higher education institutions and businesses, all bearing interest at the associative
project.

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Document of presentation – Rickshaw Impulse Project
GET INVOLVED
Whether you are an NGO, higher education institution, company or individual passionate
about mechanics, rickshaws and / or South and South-East Asia, please join us and bring
your skills. There are many ways for you to get involved with our work.
We will also be happy to join your project in favour of exclusively human-powered
transport and bring our know-how. We can support you, to the best of our availability, in
any project to improve human-powered means of transport, in particular to transpose
our technological innovations into other regions of the world, with the help of local
partners. Do not hesitate to contact us.
CONTACT
Please contact us at:
Our website is under construction and will be available soon
rickshawimpulse@gmail.com
(+33)6 26 76 69 98

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Document of presentation – Rickshaw Impulse Project
INTRODUCE OUR TEAM
The Rickshaw Impulse Project is supported by a team of 6 associated volunteers of different nationalities with
complementary skills and a very good knowledge of the environment of the rickshaw and South and South-East
Asian countries :
Jean-Louis Massard (FR) 52 years : in charge of coordination
The founder of the Rickshaw Impulse Project, Jean-Louis has been immersed in the world of the rickshaw-
drivers of the Indian subcontinent and shared their way of living. After buying a rickshaw in Dhaka, Bangladesh
to better understand their everyday lives, he journeyed to New Delhi in India, pedalling the rickshaw over 4,000
km.
Adrien Panzuti (FR) 29 years : in charge of technical monitoring
Mechanical engineer by training, he has developed innovative transmissions in the cycle and car industries. He
returned from a long trip in Southeast Asia.
Antoine Augereau (FR) 28 years : in charge of economic monitoring
Working in the sector of innovation for energy optimization, he is enthusiastic about the issues of transport, town
planning and energy efficiency. Having lived and worked 2 years in Bangladesh, he developed a knowledge of
the country and an interest for the economic sector of the rickshaw.
Nicolas De Klerk (FR) 31 years : in charge of communication
After training relative to planning and development projects, he currently works in the Internet communications
field. He is also active in the cycle and NGO area.
Rob Gallagher (UK) 63 years : Advisor / Ambassador
Robert is an urban transport planner and traffic engineer with over 35 years of experience in the UK,
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and South Africa. He is the author of The Rickshaws of Bangladesh. Dhaka:
University Press, Ltd., 1992, a book still relevant to current rickshaw issues. He brings his experience, advice
and opinions.
Claude Marthaler (SU) 55 years : Advisor / Ambassador
Cycle traveller, adventurer, writer, speaker, Claude Marthaler has travelled the world on his bike for more than
25 years. He completed a world tour in 7 years and then went back for 3 more years in Africa and Asia, during
which he met, among others, rickshaw-drivers of South and South-East Asia, with whom he shared the everyday
life. He brings his experience, advice and opinions.
Our correspondents (Bangladesh)
Maruf Rahman (BGD) : responsible for contacts in Bangladesh
Correspondent of the RIP in Dhaka, manager in a Bangladeshi NGO working since 2004 on the problems of
transport in Dhaka, he participated in 2010 in the Project on Introduction of modified rickshaws in Dhaka,
aiming at improving the rickshaws of Bangladesh.