Auto Rickshaw

An auto rickshaw is a small, typically three-wheeled motorized vehicle developed as a powered version of the pulled or cycle rickshaw, running on petrol, compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or, increasingly, electricity, and used across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and parts of Europe and the Americas as an affordable short-distance vehicle for hire and, in many cities, as a form of paratransit alongside formal bus networks. The vehicle carries different names in different regions that reflect its own local identity rather than a single global brand: tuk-tuk across much of South and Southeast Asia and in Egypt, trishaw in Sri Lanka, CNG in Bangladesh, bajaji in Tanzania, keke in Nigeria, bentor in Indonesia, mototaxi in El Salvador and Peru, and cocotaxi in Cuba. Its small size and tight turning radius suit congested, narrow urban streets where a full-sized car or bus cannot easily operate, which has made it especially common in rapidly growing cities across the tropics and the developing world.