| Carriage |
January 5, 2018
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| In this society, the auto driving car was one of the major transportation methods. But, there was another popular transportation method, using a 'cycle rickshaw'. You might know of the existence of a 'rickshaw' in India. 'Rickshaw' is a borrowed term from the Japanese word 'jin-riki-sha'. 'Jin' means 'human', 'riki' means 'power', 'sha' means 'vehicle'. So it's a 'human powered vehicle'. In Japan, at the end of the 19th century, jinrikisha was produced. It was a kind of taxi that the 'driver' would pull a two wheeled cart that the customer would ride in. The wheels were rather large so the carrier would use as little power as possible, and could run at a good speed. In Japan, at that time, there were not enough horses for carriages or carts, and feeding horses were very expensive. Some inventors thought that if humans pulled the cart instead of horses, it could be a  business chance. They could offer cheaper services and there were many job seekers who would work for cheap. It was not very fast but the customers didn't demand speed because it was not a busy world like it is now. It became popular in Japan, and a little later, it was introduced to India. It was called 'rickshaw' after 'rikisha'. It was also introduced to other Asian countries like China and Vietnam, although the names were different with each other. After a certain period, the cart became pulled by a bicycle. Then it was called 'rintaku' in Japan and 'cycle rickshaw' in India. After WWU, motorization started and the number of cycle rickshaws became smaller and smaller in each country. When electric cars started, the biggest problem for electric cars, compared to gas cars, was mileage. People especially living in rural areas emphasized the importance of mileage. If the battery became dead, the car would stop. If this happened in the middle of the mountainside or a desert, something bad would happen. Charging time was also a problem. In order to prolong the mileage, electric batteries became bigger and bigger. When the battery became bigger, the charging time became longer and the car became heavier, and so the mileage became worse. But there was another solution for better mileage, to make the body of the car lighter. Car makers intensively studied and developed how to make the bodies as light as possible. They started to develop new special fibers for the bodies, chassis, and doors. They developed very light rubber tires and strong plastic for windshields and windows. As the cars became lighter, some inventers thought, "If the bodies are this light, do we really need cars which have such elaborate and expensive motors and batteries?" The bicycle is a functional tool. It was invented a long time ago but the basic function is the same. It consists of two tires, gears and a chain, and pedals. Bicycles can ride at any speed, as a law and machine. If you go to a mountainside and start to descend, you can reach speeds of 40 ... 45 ... and even 50 km/h if you are brave. This doesn't violate any traffic laws. And if you train like a professional cyclist, you can ride at high speeds on a regular road. Electric assist bicycles are essentially the same. Some entrepreneurs started their 'electric assist cycle rickshaw' business. 'Electric assist cycle rickshaw' has the following merits. 1. They can go on some one-way roads or narrow roads that cars are not allowed to go. 2. They can park in smaller spaces. 3. They are cheaper than cars. 4. They consume less electricity. Because of the first merit, in the city-side, they could get to the destination not so differently than a car. At first, some eco-friendly people started to use these electric assist cycle rickshaws. Their travel became more real: the outside noise was heard, the vibration of the road was felt, the natural wind was refreshing. It became more and more popular. |
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*carriage :lΦnΤAζθ¨
*transportation :A@ΦAζθ¨
*existence :Άέ
*cart :ρΦΧnΤA¬^^ΐΤ
*seeker :T·l
*demand :v·ι
*mileage :Rο
*rural :cΙΜ
*desert :»
*solution :π@
*chassis :ΤδAVV[
*functional :@\IΘ
*descend :~Ί·ι
*essentially :{ΏIΙ
*less :ζθΘ’