Tran Viet Dac been pedalling customers around in his cyclo, a traditional Vietnamese bicycle rickshaw, for 25 years. — Photos: dpa
The picturesque streets of Hanoi are lined with hordes of motorbikes, loaded with families and, often, many of their possessions.
Life in the streets of Vietnam’s capital is throbbing with the sound of cars honking and tourist buses chugging along to the blue Hoan Kiem Lake.
But people who opt to travel with Tran Viet Dac can enjoy the charming slowness of a tour in his human-powered hatchback tricycle.
The 65-year-old pedals hard even in the 36°C heat and breathtaking humidity.
For a traveller, bicycle rickshaws are a leisurely way to see the city, its tree-lined avenues and colourful houses in narrow streets.
But for Tran, each customer means not only money but also hard work, especially in the hot rainy season from May to September.
When his aged tricycle finally comes to a halt, he is drenched in sweat. “I’ve been doing this for a quarter of a century now,” he says.
The most tiring part is getting started, he says. Once the rickshaw is rolling, all is well. But his wet shirt shows how strenuous the job is.
He is planning to keep pedalling for two or three more years, then wants to retire in his home village 100km north of Hanoi.
The cyclos, as the two-seater vehicles are known locally, lack gears or other aids that would relieve the driver, unlike comparable models in Berlin, Paris or London that are far more modern and less onerous to drive. Some older operators struggle so much that tourists find themselves distracted from the historic ride.
Nowadays, though, customers are rare despite the fact that Vietnam has now dropped its pandemic restrictions.
With few tourists coming to Hanoi from abroad, the typical passenger on a rickshaw ride now tends to be a traveller from distant Ho Chi Minh City which phased out the cyclos long ago.
“There are two reasons why people love our rickshaws,” says Nguyen Huu Thu, who heads the Huy Phong Company with 50 models, some half of those that remain in service in Hanoi.
“On the one hand, it’s a very slow and environmentally friendly means of transport – perfect for taking photos. On the other hand, it allows passengers to relive Hanoi’s former life and immerse themselves in the past.”
But the vehicles are becoming increasingly rare. There were at least 300 some 20 years ago, says Nguyen Duc Manh, who supervises a team of drivers. Now, just a third of them remain.
“Of course, this has mainly to do with the fact that there are far more other, faster modes of transport.”
But it’s also increasingly hard to find young men who want to take on the job. “The work is gruelling, most of them want to do other jobs nowadays,” the 60-year-old says.
The pandemic did not make the profession more appealing. Drivers were left without any income for months due to the lockdowns introduced to prevent Covid-19 from spreading. Many spent their savings and had to return to their villages in the countryside, where life is cheaper.
Tran found himself in the same situation and only returned to the job in Hanoi in March, though business has yet to bounce back as he had hoped.
“On good days I have up to 10 rides; on bad days, not a single one,” he says.
The authorities require a form of assessment for the cyclos every six months and that includes checking up on the health of the riders, too.
“It’s important that the cycle rickshaws are safe and clean, but also that the handlebars are fit enough to steer them,” says company boss Huu Thu.
The rickshaws were invented in Japan, then introduced to Vietnam in 1883. Back then, they were pulled models, a form of transport now almost universally outlawed out of concern for the workers. Now, the only pulled rickshaws still in use are mainly in Kolkata, India.
In the past, colonial Europeans used the pulled rickshaws in what was then French Indochina but they were replaced by the pedal versions in the early 20th century.
What will become of the last of Hanoi’s cyclo fleet?
“The picturesque Old Quarter is big, but also has many tiny alleys – too small for cars, but just right for cycle rickshaws,” Huu Thu says.
He is sure that tourism will soon return to Hanoi’s old town, a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1999. After all, in order to really enjoy the magic, a tour on one of the famous tricycles is a must, in his view.
Meanwhile cyclo driver Tran laughs when he thinks of the future.
“I have no doubt that our bicycle rickshaws will still be around in 100 years,” he says. – dpa/Carola Frentzen and Bac Pham
