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Rickshaw puller

Chinese immigrants have worked as rickshaw pullers by the hundreds since rickshaws were introduced to Singapore in 1880.

Description
Rickshaw pullers often wore little else than blue denims and if not barefoot, then they were shod with sandals made of cut-out car tyres. They often wore a conical hat with a flat brim, typical of those who came from Fujien province in China. They are often mistakenly depicted as wearing down-turned Guangdong hats in television serials.

Pullers drew the two-wheeled cart using the long shafts protruding by the wheels. The rickshaw puller stood between these handles with the passenger seated so as to balance his weight and that of his goods. The clothed hoods were always down unless a passenger requested it up, either to protect himself from the harsh weather, or to maintain anonymity whilst travelling. Rides were often nauseatingly swift, as the rickshaw puller wove his cart through traffic and narrow lanes.

Costs & charges
The charges as stated in the Ordinance of 1892 were 3 cents for the first half mile, 6 cents for the first mile and another 2½ cents for the next half mile or less. More details can be found in:

Reith, G. M. (1985). Handbook to Singapore (pp. 90-91). Singapore: Oxford University Press. 
(Call no.: SING 959.57022 REI).



Author
Bonny Muliani Tan



References
Reith, G. M. (1985). Handbook to Singapore (pp. 90-91). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.57022 REI)

Warren, J. F. (1986). Rickshaw coolie: A people's history of Singapore, 1880-1940 (pp. 14, 51-81). Singapore; New York: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 301.4444095957 WAR) 

Chan K. S. (1998, April 25). Next time, make sure he wears a straw hat. The Straits Times, Life, p. 10.


Further Readings
Wise, M., & Wise, M. H. (Eds.). (1996). Travellers' tales of old Singapore (pp. 139-142, 152-157). Brighton: In Print Publishing.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TRA) 

The information in this article is valid as at 2000 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Commerce and Industry>>Labour and Employment>>Vanishing Trades
Rickshaw men--Singapore
Manual work--Singapore
Rickshaws--Singapore
Singapore--History--1867-1942
Business, finance and industry>>Economics>>Labour economics

Librarian Recommendations
>> Rickshaw


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