The auto-rickshaws - CNG

It has been two months since we arrived in Dhaka and the novelty of the CNG-powered auto-rickshaw still hasn’t worn off.

CNG, also called baby taxi, are the notorious green auto rickshaws that zoom dangerously around the city like aggravated motorized wasps. You clamber into the back and the driver essentially locks you us in, in what it is basically a cage on wheels. All CNGs were fitted with these cage doors due to crime and bag snatchings. The problem now is that the bad guys approach the cage, lock the door and threaten to throw gas on you and set you on fire. 

Countless beggars take advantage of the regular traffic standstills and approach the CNGs vehicles and are reaching with their fingers in the rickshaw’s cage to grab attention. Some of riders slot taka notes out, which are greedily snatched by the beggars.

Poluttion used much worse in Dhaka (yes, I know, I find that one hard to believe), so the government of Bangladesh took action in the mid-1990s to clear the air. Leaded gasoline, which can pollute groundwater, was banned in 1999. Strict regulations were placed on the sulfur content in diesel fuel. An import ban was placed on two-stroke three-wheelers to help phase out older-model auto-rickshaws, and a widespread CNG program was launched. Compressed natural gas, CNG is known to be a fuel with lower air pollutant emissions and also the country has abundant natural gas reserves. Two-stroke engines were banned completely in 2003. When this happened, there was a 30 to 40 percent drop in pollution in Dhaka.

We have been forbidden to ride into one, because they are deemed unsafe, but they seem to genuinely fun. My local colleagues use them all the time and some of them describe them as dusty, uncomfortable and bumpy, but others appreciate them as expedient, more comfortable and spacious than the bus. And there is also the danger of being mugged as well.
For some, being locked inside the caged compartment reminds them of an amusement park ride. The CNG can also zip thru traffic because they are around two-thirds the width of a car, so they can beat the cars in the traffic jams. Sometime, the ride is taken to another level, some sort of a stunt driving, that Hollywood would probably have something to lear from. It is not unusual to see CNGs driven along the footpath by a driver who doesn't want to wait for a jam to clear up.

The funniest urban legend I heard about a CNG ride was about a couple riding in one without side doors. Suddenly a naked man leaped into their CNG and asked for money. The husband, wishing to see the naked creature promptly disappear, quickly scooped up one 100 taka note. “How can I dress myself with one hundred taka?”. One can easily guess that he got another note right away.

Why's Everybody Always Honking On Me?

You can always tell the intensity of a Dhaka traffic jam by the decibel level the honking horns have reached. If you can still hear the person next to you speak inside an air conditioned vehicle above the sounds of horns honking outside of your car, then you are just in normal Dhaka traffic.

Back home, in our "let me make sure I do not offend you" American culture, honking your horn at someone is like inviting someone to a school backyard fight. People get offended. “What’s that guy’s problem? He HONKED at me!”

Here in Dhaka, honking is just a way of life. Walking down the street, you must expect to lose some of your hearing. Cars here honk more often than they do not. When they come to an intersection, they honk. When a person is walking alongside a road, they honk at the person. When they are changing lanes (realistically there are no lanes here), they honk. When they are turning, they honk. When they just are on the road, they honk. In traffic, they just hold down their horns as if through their abuse of the horn they can express the incredible frustration they feel at the hopeless situation of the eternal traffic jam in Dhaka. A true jam will incite even the most patient driver to start honking. The horns are most annoying to pedestrians, ricksha wallah, and CNG drivers/passengers.

I seriously contemplated ordering a blow horn from the US. I would get the most powerful one, the kind that blows out your ear membranes at sporting events. Then I would just honk back at any bus, car or CNG that honks at me.

When a Dhaka traffic jam hits, it strikes with the force of an atomic bomb going off, and all ears are affected by the sound. Pedestrians beware, If you are a pedestrian near this jam, you are at serious risk of permanent hearing loss. Same goes for those in the CNGs or rickshaws. Even in the confines of an air conditioned vehicle, it becomes difficult to hear one’s own voice, or the voices of others in the car above the symphony of horns being honked.