From their heyday in the 1940s to their demise: The end of trishaws in Singapore
Decades ago, trishaws used to be one of the most popular modes of public transport in Singapore, but today, they no longer ply the streets.
On Tuesday (Apr 9), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) confirmed with CNA that no trishaw service is operating in the country after the contract of the last operator ended and was not renewed.
From taking people through crowded inner-city streets in the 1940s to becoming a tourist attraction and their eventual demise, CNA journeys through the history of trishaws in Singapore:
- 1914 – 1943: FROM RICKSHAWS TO TRISHAWS
- 1940s: POST-WAR BOOM
- 1950s – 1970s: DECLINE AS PUBLIC TRANSPORT
- 1970s – 2023: LAST RIDE
No more trishaw rides in Singapore after last licensed operator ceased tours mid-2023
Trishaw Uncle provided trishaw tours around popular tourist destinations in Singapore. (Foto: Trishaw Uncle)
Trishaws have stopped plying the streets of Singapore since June 2023, after the contract of the country's last trishaw operator ended and was not renewed.
The operator, Trishaw Uncle, had run trishaw tours from Albert Mall Trishaw Park on Queen Street since 2010. Trishaw Uncle executive Tieu Xin Yue told CNA that the company had obtained its licence to operate through a contract with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). "Prior to the end of our contract term, which (was) last May, we were told that we will have to return the site for other uses," Ms Tieu said on Tuesday (Apr 9).
Trishaw Uncle was the last remaining licensed trishaw operator at the time its contract expired end-May 2023, she added. STB's director of travel agents and tourist guides Annie Chang confirmed that the site of Trishaw Park at Queen Street was "returned to the relevant agencies for their review on usage of the site". "There are currently no other trishaw services operating in Singapore," she added.
Twilight of the trishaws in Singapore
TRISHAW UNCLE: Mr Liew Chong Fah has been a trishaw rider for 15 years.TNP FOYO: GARY GOH
Once a common mode of transport, trishaws are now a tourist novelty. The three-wheeled vehicles were one of Singapore's earliest mode of public transport. Trishaws ferried housewives to the market, children to schools and couples on dates, charging 20 to 50 cents a ride.
Today, they have evolved to offer novelty rides to tourists, taking them through the small street lanes in Bugis, Little India and by the Singapore River. Operator Trishaw Uncle charges $39 for a 30-minute ride through Bugis and Little India. The supervisor at Trishaw Uncle, Mr Sim, tells The New Paper on Sunday that when it started four years ago, Trishaw Uncle had only 50 trishaws. The fleet has since doubled, and he says it is not going out of business any time soon.
"Business got better over the years. With the standardisation of trishaw riding, everything is regulated, such as licensing, rules to follow and a standard attire - everything is now more reliable." Trishaw Uncle is the only remaining "licenced" trishaw operator here, with the competition dying out over the years though there are a few scattered freelance riders such as those who pick up tourists outside Raffles Hotel. A trishaw rider can earn about $1,200 a month, Mr Sim says.
Trishaw Ride Through History in Singapore
The trishaw was a common means of transport back in the olden days in Singapore. The three-wheeled vehicle existed in its earlier form as the "rickshaw puller" in China and was manually pulled by a rider in front of a seat attached to two big wheels. The trishaw made its debut in Singapore in the 1940s and although we do not see many trishaws on the roads now, it remains a strong icon of our rich cultural history.
Trishaw riders began initially as rickshaw pullers. With the evolution of rickshaws to the three-wheeled trishaws, many became trishaw riders often using the vehicle as their own home or for hawking food. Trishaw riders were primarily Chinese immigrants who had worked as coolies or rickshaw pullers. Many trishaw riders can converse fairly fluently in different dialects as well as a little English. Most of these rickshaw pullers came to Singapore around the period of World War II, with the bulk arriving during the late 1930s. Most of those who took on the job had little skills and needed to earn a living fast. Many modified their trishaws so that it often served as a roving hawker stall as well.
Today's trishaw riders serve mainly tourists and a large proportion of the tourist rides are driven through the historical sites of Singapore, the blaring music of radios boxed into the trishaws' seats and their brightly coloured lights announcing their presence. Pick up point is at Albert Centre Market and Food Centre, off Rochor Road and these tours cost about S$15 per person. Singapore's skylines are getting higher and higher, and buildings and technology are transforming this island into one of the top holiday destinations in Asia. While the modern aspect of Singapore is gaining popularity year-on-year, it's the less modern areas of Singapore that travellers are starting to forget. People tend to forget that as much as Singapore is the epitome of Asian development, it is also rich in cultural diversity and the best way to go about experiencing that is through a trishaw ride.
A trishaw in Chinatown
The first trishaws were officially registered in Singapore in 1914 although they were advertised in the papers as early as 1886 in the form of the Upton Park tricycle. These early trishaws were essentially modified rickshaws attached to a bicycle and as such were known as ‘pedal rickshaws’ or ‘pedicabs’ when they were first introduced.
It was not until the 1920s that trishaws became more widespread on the island when a new wave of Chinese immigrants turned to trishaw peddling as an occupation. Although less manoeuvrable than the hand-drawn rickshaw, the trishaw proved popular in Singapore and the region due to its greater speed. The use of trishaws grew even more dramatically during and immediately after the Japanese Occupation when petrol for motor vehicles was scarce. They have since become a rare sight on Singapore’s busy roads and are now mainly chartered by tourists looking to experience the Singapore of yesteryear. The historic district of Chinatown grew from the Chinese settlement known as the ‘Chinese Campong’ designated by Sir Stamford Raffles in his 1822 Town Plan for Singapore. Located on the southwestern bank of the Singapore River, the settlement initially covered an area of one square mile and was separated into zones each occupied by a particular Chinese dialect group.
Major development of the district began in the 1840s following the granting of more land leases to build shophouses, and by the turn of the century, overcrowding and congestion were commonplace in the area. Starting from the mid 1960s, many of Chinatown’s residents were moved to new housing estates as part of the government’s urban renewal and resettlement schemes. Major upgrading works on the shophouses in Chinatown were carried out in the 1980s and many of the street hawkers in the area were moved to the Kreta Ayer Complex. In 2002, the Singapore Tourism Board opened the Chinatown Heritage Centre along Pagoda Street to showcase the area’s long history.
Trishaw
The trishaw was a popular mode of transportation in Singapore in the mid-20th century. Trishaws first surfaced in Singapore in April 1914 as “pedal rickshaws” which had chairs bolstered to tricycle frames.
The use of trishaws grew in the 1940s, especially in the years after the Japanese Occupation when petrol for motor vehicles was scarce, along with the abolishment of the rickshaw by colonial authorities in 1947. The trishaw industry declined from the mid-1950s with the introduction of multiple government regulations and increasing number of motor vehicles such as private taxis.
Other factors such as the government’s urban renewal program contributed to the decline of trishaws as people were resettled from Central Areas of the city to urban neighbourhoods. They have since become a rare sight on Singapore’s busy roads and are now mainly chartered by tourists who seek to experience old Singapore.
Trishaw
A trishaw (also known as a cycle-rickshaw or pedicab) is a bicycle with a sidecar, powered entirely by the cyclist. The trishaw was a popular mode of public transportation in the immediate years following the end of the Japanese Occupation (1942 to 1945) in Singapore but started to suffer a decline in popularity from the mid-1950s onwards. By the late 1970s, trishaw riders were regarded as a dying breed with most of them primarily involved in the tourism trade.
The trishaw evolved from the rickshaw (known in Japanese as jinrikisha, or “man-powered carriage”), which is pulled by a man. Trishaws first surfaced in Singapore in April 1914 as “pedal rickshaws”, which had chairs bolted to tricycle frames. The initial batch of 15 trishaws, with unknown origins, were said to be crudely constructed, and did not last long on the streets of Singapore. An American company’s request to import 500 trishaws later that year was rejected by the British colonial authorities due to considerations for road safety.
Trishaws were reintroduced to Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. According to a Syonan Times article published on 8 August 1942, the first batch of 10 trishaws (referred to as “ricksha-cycles” in the report) started plying the streets on 7 August 1943 with an official fare rate of 15 cents per mile. The Syonan Tricycle Co. rented out each trishaw at 80 cents per day. Trishaws in Singapore during the postwar era were made of locally available materials and parts, which mainly consisted of wood and standard bicycle frames. While initially appearing in various shapes and sizes, the dimensions of the trishaw were later standardised by the Municipal Commission, first in 1946 and then again in 1948. By the 1950s, the average cost of a brand new trishaw was between $500 and $600, although prices varied among the different bicycle manufacturers.
Cycle Rickshaw
A trishaw and rider at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, cyclo, beca, becak, trisikad, sikad, tricycle taxi, trishaw, or hatchback bike. While the rickshaw is pulled by a person on foot, the cycle rickshaw is human-powered by pedaling. By contrast, the auto rickshaw is motorized.
The first cycle rickshaws were built in the 1880s and were first used widely in 1929 in Singapore. Six years later, they outnumbered pulled rickshaws there. By 1950, cycle rickshaws were found in every south and east Asian country. By the late 1980s, there were an estimated 4 million cycle rickshaws worldwide. The vehicle is generally pedal-driven by a driver, though some are equipped with an electric motor to assist the driver. The vehicle is usually a tricycle, though some quadracycle models exist, and some bicycles with trailers are configured as cycle rickshaws. Some cycle rickshaws have gas or electric motors.
The configuration of driver and passenger seats varies. Generally the driver sits in front of the passengers to pedal the rickshaw. There are some designs, though, where the cyclist driver sits behind the passengers. In many Asian countries, like Bangladesh, India, and China, the passenger seat is located behind the driver, while in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam the cyclist driver sits behind the passenger. In the Philippines, the passenger seats are usually located beside the driver in a side car. Similar to this, passengers sit alongside the driver in both trishaw, in Singapore, and the sai kaa, in Burma.
