E-rickshaw- a new machine of freedom for poor women in the Pink City!

Jaipur, the pink city has taken a new pledge to improve the lives of poor women. PCRC’s e-rickshaws is the new initiative started which aims to provide earnings to the poor urban women.

Let's read to know in detail.

The company trains women living in slums in Jaipur to take tourists on customized tours around the old city. What an amazing thought to improve the lifestyle of these women.

“Before we started, there were no women rickshaw drivers in the city,” says Radhika Kumari, who heads PCRC.

She further said that they started with a small group of women in the year 2017, is today they have 50 women drivers who drive for the company! However, she even stated that getting there was not easy. They faced a lot of hurdles and had to work a lot to improvise the stereotype mind set.

“We have tie-ups with five-star hotels across the city for clients,” says Kumari.

Not only the company is empowering women socially and economically but is also going environmentally sustainable with its specially modified e-rickshaws.

The story behind the success:

“There were very few takers in the beginning. There was a lot of hesitation from women and resistance from their communities. Their families would ask us why we want to make them rickshaw-walas. But after much convincing, they finally managed to bring the first batch of women onboard” says Kumari,

However, if you are thinking that the struggle is over then you are mistaken. As soon they decided to start the rickshaw service the next challenge of training these women came. Their families were unwilling to let them get trained by male rickshaw drivers.

“When you’re teaching someone to drive, there will be occasional physical contact, and unfortunately, there are no rickshaw training schools for women. Our team learnt how to drive first, and then taught the women to drive,” says Radhika smiling in one her interviews. This smile of her showed the hidden struggle of doing something so big like this!

The most amazing and surprising part about the first batch of women is that they didn’t even know how a job could be and today they are so well knowledged and confident that they themselves figure out directions to hotels and pick up points. They have started to understand GPS. And they and have even picked up on a few English words to communicate with foreign tourists without hesitation.

 “If anyone tries to hit their vehicle or come in the wrong direction, they stop them and call the cops,” says Kumari.  

In today’s time, the PCRC’s e-rickshaws are becoming machines of freedom for several such women in Jaipur who are craving for a better life.

The company has even bigger plans in the coming future. They plan has to become a company of 200 women drivers.

“We want it to become a company that every tourist, who comes to Jaipur, wants to tour with the rickshaw company,” says Kumari.

PCRC’s e-rickshaw has a different look and feel that makes it stand out! A woman neatly dressed in a salwar suit and a vest with a name tag in the dress code identifier of the company.

The pledge taken by the company is definitely commendable. We are definitely looking forward for the company to grow even big. This initiative has definitely improved the life of so many women across Jaipur.

My readers do let me know your views on this. And yes if you plan to go to Jaipur then don’t forget to take a tour in PCRC’s e-rickshaw. You will definitely rejoice it for lifetime.

Till then stay tuned for further upcoming updates.