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Why are workers leaving other jobs to drive autorickshaws?

Published : Sunday, 11 October, 2026 at 1:20 PM

Observer Special Report

AI Illustration

Low wages, factory closures and a lack of alternative jobs are pushing workers from sectors such as garment manufacturing and agriculture into battery-run autorickshaw driving, raising concerns over labour shortages in other sectors.

A former garment worker recently turned to autorickshaw driving after losing his job. He said he had worked in the garment sector for 20 years before his factory shut down. He remained unemployed for about three months before taking up the new occupation.

Another driver said he had started driving a autorickshaw after losing his job at a garment factory. His monthly salary there was Tk 8,500. He later left the job to start a business, which initially did well but suffered a downturn after about two years.

Some have also left agriculture and other manual jobs to drive autorickshaws. One driver said he could not afford to invest in agricultural land and had moved to Dhaka in search of a livelihood.

He said his garment-sector salary had not been enough to support his family. He later worked in earth excavation and other manual jobs, but those opportunities eventually dried up as well.

Driving an autorickshaw as main occupation has become quite common in the country, especially in the capital. People from rural areas migrate to Dhaka in search for wealth–prompting to adapt into driving a battery powered rickshaw.

Key reasons of leaning towards autorickshaw driving follows:

Less Physical Strain: An autorickshaw driver does not need to pull the rickshaw by his force; rather the battery does the heavy lifting. Most of the rickshaws are now equipped with plastic roofs, which protect the passengers as well as the drivers from extreme sunlight.

As there is little to no physical strain in driving an autorickshaw, it is natural that people would be more intrigued to drive autorickshaw instead of hard-labour.

Adverse Weather: Adverse weathers are a jackpot for the autorickshaw drivers. They charge triple or quadruple sum of fare for the same distance just because there is heavy rain.

Exploiting Wrong Ways: Autorickshaws often tend to overtake and go through wrong side to reach its destination faster. Typically they succeed in reaching the destination early; however, they leave behind terrible backlogs of traffic congestions, creating “phantom traffic jam.”

No Licence, Registration: In Dhaka, more than 1-1.2 million autorickshaws are currently operating. Nearly all of them are not registered, nor do their drivers hold any sort of licence. In addition, reckless driving contributes to numerous accidents.

An inquiry into city’s hospital emergency section revealed that almost one third of the accidents that occur in the capital, are caused by autorickshaw accidents.

An estimated 6 million autorickshaws are currently operating in the country. The sector is expanding rapidly amid a lack of effective regulation. Drivers reportedly earn between Tk 25,000 and Tk 30,000 a month.

The movement of workers from other occupations into autorickshaw driving has raised concerns about labour shortages, particularly in agriculture.

Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, president of Knowledge Hub Institute Trust, said farmers were struggling to find enough workers, especially during seedling transplantation and harvesting seasons.

He said workers sometimes had to rely on local volunteers to complete agricultural tasks because of the shortage of available labour.

Experts have warned that abruptly shutting down the autorickshaw sector could leave a large number of people unemployed and trigger social unrest. They have called for alternative employment opportunities before imposing restrictions on the sector.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, said people had taken up autorickshaw driving because the state had failed to provide adequate alternatives.

“The state must ensure alternative arrangements before regulating this occupation. Otherwise, it could lead to serious human rights violations and create further social disorder,” he said.

Economists have recommended bringing these vehicles under a licensing system while introducing temporary social safety net support for drivers willing to move to other occupations.

-EM/SA