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The above video is from a friend of mine, Shawn, who does charitable work in rural Bangladesh. You can read more about the great work he does at Uncultured.com. But just because he's working to help the rural poor doesn't mean he doesn't see the world with the eyes of an ecogeek. Shawn came accross an electric rickshaw and totally geeked out about it and just got the video online.
Rickshaws, generally, are massive polluters. The majority of them are run with extremely inefficient and polluting small diesel engines. There are a new crop already that run on compressed natural gas that are becomming more common in India. But even less common than that, are new electric rickshaws that use really low-tech components to save energy and the environment.
Richshaws are low-tech vehicles that basically serve as taxis in less developed countries. They're extremely minimalist, using the smallest engines and the cheapest materials they can get away with. I'm sure this thing is powered by lead acid batteries, and yeah, the electricity comes from coal, but it's enough to keep high-emissions diesel engines off the road even in a rural town in Bangladesh. When the third world starts adopting these technologies, hopefully it means that the rest of the world will soon be ready to hop on too.
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written by used cars, January 06, 2011
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They're a bit larger than the Bangladeshi one shown above, but basically the same.
Additionally, Bangladesh greatly improved the air in Dhaka a couple of years ago when they kicked out the two cycle autorickshaws. I happened to be there on when it happened and one could easily tell the difference within a couple of days.
(Are you certain about the "small diesel"? I've never encountered one. Most are two and four cycle gas. Some have been converted to natural gas.)