SINGAPORE: A decision to not renew the lease for Singapore's last remaining space for active trishaw operators was linked to road development plans that could make the area unconducive for trishaw tours.
The works meant trishaw tour routes along surrounding roads would have to be modified, the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) director for travel agents and tourist guides Ms Annie Chang told CNA.
CNA previously reported that trishaw tours have not run since June 2023, after Singapore’s last commercially licensed trishaw operator, Trishaw Uncle, was asked to vacate Albert Mall Trishaw Park upon expiry of its contract.
Albert Mall Trishaw Park was located in central Singapore along the pedestrian Albert Street between Albert Centre and Fu Lu Shou Complex. When CNA visited earlier in April, the area where trishaws used to park was empty.
Trishaw Uncle’s booth at the head of Albert Street was also gone. The area was fenced by construction hoarding for ongoing works related to the North-South Corridor.
The integrated expressway, expected to be completed in phases from 2027, will run under roads near Albert Street.
Trishaw riders used to park the vehicles at Albert Mall Trishaw Park when they were not out on tours. (Photo: iStock/MosayMay)
The empty space where Albert Mall Trishaw Park used to be located, Apr 11, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Davina Tham)
Trishaw Uncle's stand that used to be located on Albert Street in Singapore. (Photo: iStock/CharlieTong)
Construction works on Albert Street at the former site of Trishaw Uncle's stand, Apr 11, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Davina Tham)
Other businesses on Albert Street, including a row of kiosks and fortune-telling stands, were still open. Shopkeepers said the absence of the trishaw riders did not have a noticeable effect on their business.
Ms Jessica Chong, who sells clothes at a kiosk, said it was better not to have trishaws parked there as visitors would have more space to walk.
STB’s Ms Chang said that prior to Trishaw Uncle's contract expiry, it actively engaged the operator and extended its lease to allow time to explore alternative arrangements.
“Industry partners have cited waning demand for trishaw rides due to alternative products which are similar, such as sightseeing bus tours, walking tours, cycling tours and river cruises,” she added.
Trishaw Uncle previously told CNA that it had shortlisted potential sites in Chinatown, Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay for discussion with STB, but was informed it could not use these spaces.
STB said these sites were assessed to be unsuitable due to "competing uses".
Safety concerns, the need for a "conducive" operational environment and the requirement for a place to store the trishaws were key factors that STB and relevant agencies considered.
In Singapore, all trishaw operators and individual riders must obtain necessary licences and approvals from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) before starting operations, including for non-commercial uses.
LTA said it has not received feedback or come across any unlicensed trishaw operators or riders.
While commercial trishaw tours are no longer available with the non-renewal of Albert Mall Trishaw Park's lease and the expiry of Trishaw Uncle’s licence, charity Cycling Without Age Singapore gives recreational trishaw rides to seniors.
The charity has 11 trishaws and is licenced to operate on footpaths and park connectors. Its activities are concentrated at Gardens by the Bay, ActiveSG Park at Jurong Lake Gardens and PAssion WaVe @ Marina Bay areas, said founder Jerome Yuen.
An executive committee member of the Singapore Heritage Society, a non-governmental organisation, said he was saddened but not surprised by the loss of trishaw rides.
Trishaws and their predecessors, rickshaws, were an important part of the history of Singapore and urban Malaya, moving goods and people around as well as providing income, noted Mr Han Ming Guang.
He pointed to financial sustainability as one of the main challenges in conserving heritage activities, given business costs and competition from other offerings.
Trishaws waiting for passengers at Geylang Serai market in 1992. (Photo: Liesel Strauss collection, National Library, Singapore)
The loss of trishaw rides in Singapore is “disheartening”, said Associate Professor TC Chang, who studies tourism and urbanisation at the National University of Singapore.
“In a fast-moving society like Singapore, the loss of a slow-moving but picturesque mode of transport should give us some serious pause for thought.
“Here is a traditional mode of transport that links us to the past, and should therefore be celebrated even if they might not always be commercially viable,” he said.
Trishaws in other cities like Malacca and Macao have evolved with the times and remain cherished cultural icons, Assoc Prof Chang added.
“In Malacca, trishaws were also dying out some decades ago until somebody had a mini brainwave to decorate the trishaws with all manner of unusual, quirky designs.”
In Macao’s historic quarters, trishaw riders have retrained themselves as tour guides and ferry tourists around as “cultural ambassadors”.
“People might be drawn to the cosmopolitan wonders of a modern urban destination, but tradition and history always add depth and meaning to a place,” said Assoc Prof Chang.
A vendor selling household items from a tricycle in the 1990s. (Photo: Liesel Strauss Collection, National Library, Singapore.)
However Mr Benjamin Cassim, senior lecturer in hospitality and tourism management at Singapore Polytechnic, said trishaw rides only supported heritage tourism in a “small way”.
“The halting of the service will have minimal impact on how visitors experience and enjoy heritage tourism in Singapore,” he said.
Singapore’s strengths in heritage offerings include architecture, historical artefacts, storytelling and now, a greater emphasis on food, added Mr Cassim.
A former trishaw rider who only wanted to be known as Kent told CNA that he became interested in the three-wheeled, pedalled vehicle as a young boy in the 1950s and 1960s.
Then, trishaws were a mode of transport and not a tourist attraction, and he looked forward to each time he got to ride one with his mother, he said.
Now 71, Kent became a rider with Trishaw Uncle about a decade ago, doing up to 10 rides a day. He felt a sense of pride giving tourists an experience they could not have in their own countries.
Most of his bookings were for tour groups, with passengers tending to come from Europe, Australia, the United States, Japan and Korea. A trishaw tour to Little India and back would cost S$39, while one of Kampong Glam would cost $49.
Trishaw riders were more than cyclists; just like in Macao, the Singaporean ones also acted as tour guides and ambassadors, introducing passengers to the sights and sounds of the country, Kent said.
“All I need to do is just to familiarise myself with the places that we’re going, read up a little bit here and there, find out more. Then they ask you questions, you answer, then they’re very happy,” he said.
A trishaw with a passenger at Syed Alwi Road in 1993. (Photo: Liesel Strauss collection, National Library, Singapore)
He is now an assistant boatman with Singapore River Cruise tour agency, a sister company of Trishaw Uncle, but would return to riding trishaws if the opportunity arose.
Trishaw tours involve more interaction with tourists and also allow them to see Singapore up close at a slow speed, he said.
He was saddened by the end of Trishaw Uncle and still doesn't understand the decision not to renew the company’s contract.
“We don’t generate a lot of money, but it’s not (about) that," he said. "It’s something that is iconic; it’s different."
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The works meant trishaw tour routes along surrounding roads would have to be modified, the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) director for travel agents and tourist guides Ms Annie Chang told CNA.
CNA previously reported that trishaw tours have not run since June 2023, after Singapore’s last commercially licensed trishaw operator, Trishaw Uncle, was asked to vacate Albert Mall Trishaw Park upon expiry of its contract.
Albert Mall Trishaw Park was located in central Singapore along the pedestrian Albert Street between Albert Centre and Fu Lu Shou Complex. When CNA visited earlier in April, the area where trishaws used to park was empty.
Trishaw Uncle’s booth at the head of Albert Street was also gone. The area was fenced by construction hoarding for ongoing works related to the North-South Corridor.
The integrated expressway, expected to be completed in phases from 2027, will run under roads near Albert Street.
Trishaw riders used to park the vehicles at Albert Mall Trishaw Park when they were not out on tours. (Photo: iStock/MosayMay)
The empty space where Albert Mall Trishaw Park used to be located, Apr 11, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Davina Tham)
Trishaw Uncle's stand that used to be located on Albert Street in Singapore. (Photo: iStock/CharlieTong)
Construction works on Albert Street at the former site of Trishaw Uncle's stand, Apr 11, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Davina Tham)
Other businesses on Albert Street, including a row of kiosks and fortune-telling stands, were still open. Shopkeepers said the absence of the trishaw riders did not have a noticeable effect on their business.
Ms Jessica Chong, who sells clothes at a kiosk, said it was better not to have trishaws parked there as visitors would have more space to walk.
STB’s Ms Chang said that prior to Trishaw Uncle's contract expiry, it actively engaged the operator and extended its lease to allow time to explore alternative arrangements.
“Industry partners have cited waning demand for trishaw rides due to alternative products which are similar, such as sightseeing bus tours, walking tours, cycling tours and river cruises,” she added.
Trishaw Uncle previously told CNA that it had shortlisted potential sites in Chinatown, Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay for discussion with STB, but was informed it could not use these spaces.
STB said these sites were assessed to be unsuitable due to "competing uses".
Safety concerns, the need for a "conducive" operational environment and the requirement for a place to store the trishaws were key factors that STB and relevant agencies considered.
In Singapore, all trishaw operators and individual riders must obtain necessary licences and approvals from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) before starting operations, including for non-commercial uses.
LTA said it has not received feedback or come across any unlicensed trishaw operators or riders.
While commercial trishaw tours are no longer available with the non-renewal of Albert Mall Trishaw Park's lease and the expiry of Trishaw Uncle’s licence, charity Cycling Without Age Singapore gives recreational trishaw rides to seniors.
The charity has 11 trishaws and is licenced to operate on footpaths and park connectors. Its activities are concentrated at Gardens by the Bay, ActiveSG Park at Jurong Lake Gardens and PAssion WaVe @ Marina Bay areas, said founder Jerome Yuen.
Related:
A FUTURE FOR HERITAGE TOURISM?
An executive committee member of the Singapore Heritage Society, a non-governmental organisation, said he was saddened but not surprised by the loss of trishaw rides.
Trishaws and their predecessors, rickshaws, were an important part of the history of Singapore and urban Malaya, moving goods and people around as well as providing income, noted Mr Han Ming Guang.
He pointed to financial sustainability as one of the main challenges in conserving heritage activities, given business costs and competition from other offerings.
Trishaws waiting for passengers at Geylang Serai market in 1992. (Photo: Liesel Strauss collection, National Library, Singapore)
The loss of trishaw rides in Singapore is “disheartening”, said Associate Professor TC Chang, who studies tourism and urbanisation at the National University of Singapore.
“In a fast-moving society like Singapore, the loss of a slow-moving but picturesque mode of transport should give us some serious pause for thought.
“Here is a traditional mode of transport that links us to the past, and should therefore be celebrated even if they might not always be commercially viable,” he said.
Trishaws in other cities like Malacca and Macao have evolved with the times and remain cherished cultural icons, Assoc Prof Chang added.
“In Malacca, trishaws were also dying out some decades ago until somebody had a mini brainwave to decorate the trishaws with all manner of unusual, quirky designs.”
In Macao’s historic quarters, trishaw riders have retrained themselves as tour guides and ferry tourists around as “cultural ambassadors”.
“People might be drawn to the cosmopolitan wonders of a modern urban destination, but tradition and history always add depth and meaning to a place,” said Assoc Prof Chang.
A vendor selling household items from a tricycle in the 1990s. (Photo: Liesel Strauss Collection, National Library, Singapore.)
However Mr Benjamin Cassim, senior lecturer in hospitality and tourism management at Singapore Polytechnic, said trishaw rides only supported heritage tourism in a “small way”.
“The halting of the service will have minimal impact on how visitors experience and enjoy heritage tourism in Singapore,” he said.
Singapore’s strengths in heritage offerings include architecture, historical artefacts, storytelling and now, a greater emphasis on food, added Mr Cassim.
Related:
SIGHTS FROM THE SLOW LANE
A former trishaw rider who only wanted to be known as Kent told CNA that he became interested in the three-wheeled, pedalled vehicle as a young boy in the 1950s and 1960s.
Then, trishaws were a mode of transport and not a tourist attraction, and he looked forward to each time he got to ride one with his mother, he said.
Now 71, Kent became a rider with Trishaw Uncle about a decade ago, doing up to 10 rides a day. He felt a sense of pride giving tourists an experience they could not have in their own countries.
Most of his bookings were for tour groups, with passengers tending to come from Europe, Australia, the United States, Japan and Korea. A trishaw tour to Little India and back would cost S$39, while one of Kampong Glam would cost $49.
Trishaw riders were more than cyclists; just like in Macao, the Singaporean ones also acted as tour guides and ambassadors, introducing passengers to the sights and sounds of the country, Kent said.
“All I need to do is just to familiarise myself with the places that we’re going, read up a little bit here and there, find out more. Then they ask you questions, you answer, then they’re very happy,” he said.
A trishaw with a passenger at Syed Alwi Road in 1993. (Photo: Liesel Strauss collection, National Library, Singapore)
He is now an assistant boatman with Singapore River Cruise tour agency, a sister company of Trishaw Uncle, but would return to riding trishaws if the opportunity arose.
Trishaw tours involve more interaction with tourists and also allow them to see Singapore up close at a slow speed, he said.
He was saddened by the end of Trishaw Uncle and still doesn't understand the decision not to renew the company’s contract.
“We don’t generate a lot of money, but it’s not (about) that," he said. "It’s something that is iconic; it’s different."
Continue reading...