[sustran] Re: On bike taxi

[Guillen Danielle]

  Hello,

  For those interested on bike taxi, here's sharing my paper
`Motorcycle-propelled Public Transport and Local Policy Development: The
Case of  `Tricycles" and `Habal-habal" in Davao City, Philippines, for
additional information. It is downloadable at this site:

  http://www.iatss.or.jp/english/research/v28-n1/v28-n1-06/res-ab06.html


  I would be happy to get your feedback and comments as Im still continuing
my research on this.

  Thanks.

  Best Regards,

  Marie Danielle Guillen
  Graduate Student
  Urban Transportation Laboratory
  Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences
  University of Tsukuba
  Tsukuba City, Japan 305-0821


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" <richmond at alum.mit.edu>
  To: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport"
<sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
  Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 1:09 AM
  Subject: [sustran] Re: Information on 'Bike Taxi'


  >
  > Thank you Brendan, and I have by no means told you all the stories!
  >
  > One on my motorbike drivers in Phnom Penh had just almost killed me by
  > swerving sharply across and alongside the opposing flow of traffic to
  > avoid a policeman he'd spotted (the driver was unlicensed). As if this
  > wasn't enough excitement for one day, he next offered me a prostitute.
  > "No thanks; I don't want to die," I told him, as there seems to be no
other
  > understanding of why a rich Westerner would not want a little extra
  > company. "$10 for a nice girl," he said. "Clean." I wasn't moved.
  > "AIDS," I replied.
  >
  > The driver had already told me he was saving for college, but I wondered
  > how effective he was at pursuing this goal. "And do you ever hire a
  > prostitute?" I asked. Yes, he did, he replied. Now, $10 is a lot of
money
  > for a motorcycle driver to spend on anything, but maybe he gets a
  > nonmonetary commission for bringing in Westerners. I wasn't willing to
  > test out this theory, however, even for the benefit of the SUSTRAN list,
  > and confirmed to him that he was still returning me to my hotel.
  >
  > I will say you get to experience a lot of ordinary life from the back of
a
  > motorbike. I have stopped en route and visited shops and homes. I have
  > been taken to the houses of drivers; in one case, I ended up going
  > to a pharmacy with one of them to help sort out what antibiotics he
  > needed for a small infection (and I ended up paying for them!); there
are
  > three drivers (all from Cambodia) with whom I'm in occasional email
  > contact. One of them asked me to lend him money to buy a car. Er.... I
  > don't even have a car myself!
  >                                                 --Jonathan
  > -----
  >
  > Jonathan E. D. Richmond                               02 524-5510
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  >