Front view of empty bicycle rickshaw driven in Hanoi and shoppers in motion
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- May 1997
- Location
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- License
- This photograph copyright ©1997. Terms of use
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for bicycle rickshaws, cyclos, Hanoi, men's work, small businesses, transportation, urban life, and Vietnam.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
A man drives his empty bicycle rickshaw or “cyclo” through a commercial street in Hanoi. The slightly blurred image shows nearby shoppers in motion.
Cyclos look like large tricycles with a canopy-covered, double passenger seat in front of the handlebars. These vehicles are a popular form of public, short-distance transportation in many parts of urban Southeast Asia. Cyclos do not move quickly but they often can maneuver into alleys too small to accommodate or be served by public buses.
Driving a cyclo is hard labor, generally done by men. Drivers often work long hours away from home, sometimes in tough urban neighborhoods. Throughout Southeast Asia, driving a bicycle rickshaw is a tiring and low-paying job, but it is a small business opportunity undertaken by urban men without access to land, capital or higher education.
