Trishaw service no longer a necessity in the city
Once a necessity, the trishaw service is now a novelty in Penang.
While 150-odd trishaw pedallers still dot the streets, there is a high possibility the trishaws will die a natural death if no effort is taken to maintain the service.
Penang Malay Association (Pemenang) President Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said the trishaw used to be a favourite mode of transport in the past.
“But it is now used for sightseeing. Soon, it will be forgotten,” he said, suggesting that the authorities are taking steps to preserve the service.
During the colonial days, people used the rickshaw before the trishaw took over.
At the time, many could not afford their own vehicles and public transport was not as advanced as it is today.
“Today, there are many easy ways to buy cars, and the use of the trishaw is now best for sightseeing.”
Yussof said trishaw pedallers earned good money back then, but these days, they struggled to make ends meet, and as far as convenience was concerned, trishaws were no longer viable.
Yussof proposed that the state government took over the service, bought new trishaws and employed trishaw pedallers who still plied the street for a living.
“If the government takes over the industry, then there is a higher chance for the service to be preserved for the sake of tourism.”
Penang Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said the issue had loomed large for years now.
“We have been talking about it for the last eight to nine years,” he said, adding that new developments would be revealed by the state government.
The Penang government assists trishaw pedallers in the areas designated under the Car Free Day every Sunday, from 7am to 5pm here.
They get RM20 if they appear on streets under the World Heritage Site under the United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
The streets with the Unesco status are at Lebuh Pantai, Lebuh Gereja, Gat Lebuh Gereja and Lebuh Bishop.