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Tuk Tuk rally in Sri Lanka-day of tree-planting to offset carbon

by sathyajith | September 6, 2009 at 02:16 am

279 views | 32 Recommendations | 8 comments

TUk Tuks are very popular in Sri Lanka as Taxis.
Three-wheeler taxi dirvers are scheduled in a day of tree-planting to offset their carbon emissions, after the rally

Tuk Tuk rally in Sri Lanka

A highly unusual rally of Tuk-Tuks, or auto-rickshaws, is starting in Sri Lanka.

The ten-day event brings together eccentric novice drivers from countries ranging from New Zealand to India to Switzerland to Colombia.

Twenty-three brightly coloured tuk-tuks are now rallying in a coastal resort, with 47 people squeezed into them for the Great Sri Lankan Tuk-Tuk Challenge.

Few of them have ever driven one of these three-wheelers which ply the roads in countless Asian cities, and which the organisers call “one of the funkiest modes of transport invented by man”.

Once a driving lesson is over, they’ll be off, through the hills, coconut plantations, forests and back to the beaches in a 10-day race raising money for charity.

They have also scheduled in a day of tree-planting to offset their carbon emissions.

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israeli.agent

at 03:31 on September 6th, 2009

These three wheelers are a real menace in this part of the world though. Low mileage, lot of pollution and rude drivers gives a clear picture of the situation. But however the tourists from the West go absolute orgasmic immediately after a two Kilometer drive in one of these things..!

.Agent.

lalith

at 09:15 on September 8th, 2009

We have three wheelers with 4 stroke engines in SL now. Less air and noise pollution :-)

sara star

at 03:43 on September 6th, 2009

Too bad about the pollution.

sathyajith

at 13:06 on September 6th, 2009

an example from Central and southamerika

Fuel efficiency and pollution
In July 1998, the Supreme Court of India ordered the Delhi government to implement CNG or LPG (Autogas) fuel for all autos and for the entire bus fleet in and around the city. Delhi observed a dramatic improvement in the quality of air with the switch to CNG, and this is important for a city where it is still common to see pedestrians and drivers wearing nurse's masks for protection against the prevalent city smog. Initially, auto rickshaw drivers in Delhi had to wait in long queues to get their CNG cylinders re-filled, but the situation has improved drastically with the rise of filling stations that sell CNG. Certain other local governments are also pushing for 4strokes engines instead of the current two-stroke versions. Typical mileage for an Indian-made auto rickshaw is around 35 kilometres per litre of petrol (about 2.9 L per 100 km, or 82 miles per gallon). Pakistan has also passed a similar law where Auto rickshaws are not allowed in certain areas of cities. CNG Rickshaws have started to appear in huge numbers across many cities in Pakistan.

sathyajith

at 04:22 on September 6th, 2009

LEG 1
From Waikkal to Diganapathana, participants had to navigate their way towards the finish line. Today's leg consisted of one challenge, which all the participants having to locate Panavitia Ambalana - an acient resting place used back in the day by the many travelers traversing the country. Completion of this challenge awarded a 1 hour time deduction.

It was a fierce and close competition between teams Weng Weng Agent 00 and Tukxedo who finished within minutes of each other. Beach Rotana followed in as a close third.

James and Jonno - Team Weng Weng Agent 00 - Winners of Leg 1

Ben, Chris and Felix from Tukxedo - 2nd place

Nicole and Paul from Beach Rotana - 3rd place

This afternoon the teams will have the opportunity to visit the Jayatilaka family for afternoon tea, where they will be able to gather an insight of their day to day lives here in Diganapathana.

String hoppers, Kotthu, Rotis and Sambol will be on the menu later on... and lets not forget about the coconut Arrack...

Kick off tomorrow at 6:30am!