The following article gives some highlevel information on rickshaws in Nepal.
There are many ways to get around in Nepal. Most visitors get around by Taxi and bus in Nepal as car hire is difficult and it is usually necessary to have a driver.
One of the more interesting ways (and sometimes one of the easiest ways in view of the difficult terrain in Nepal) of getting around in Nepal however is by rickshaw.
Rickshaws are a wonderful way of getting around Nepal and as such they are a very popular mode of transport.
They are usually three wheeled vehicles and many are pulled by motorcycle engined devices. However, in the old city in Kathmandu you may see many examples of rickshaws pulled by bicycle.
In particular the battery operated rickshaws are a great way of getting around Nepal without adding further pollution to this already much polluted country.
Rickshaws operate in the same way that auto and bicycle rickshaws operate in the same way as taxis – i.e. there are a number of waiting points for rickshaws and you can also flag them down. The tempos however act in the same way as shared taxis, which means that the driver will wait until they are full before commencing the journey.
Traditionally, rickshaw drivers hire their rickshaw which means that they may try hard to get a ‘good’ deal from you to offset their hire costs. You may also find in this respect that prices for rickshaw journeys vary considerably. As with most countries where there are many tourists, individuals will always try and get the maximum that they can from you. It is worth bearing in mind however, that rickshaw drivers in Nepal are extremely poor and that most of them live below the poverty line. Therefore it is likely that most of us can afford to pay a little extra for our journeys
