Electric powered rickshaws to hit the streets of Japan

It looks like rickshaw riders of the future won’t need to be fit and able bodied people anymore. The Yodogawa Group in Japan has just revealed an electric-powered rickshaw that won’t need its driver to cycle in order to operate. Powered by a single lithium-ion battery, the electric rickshaw can move at a speed of up to 25 miles per hour and seats three passengers. It’s been designed to be as simple as possible, with heaters and air conditioners removed for blankets and pinwheel fans – the only thing electric in the rickshaw is the motor itself. With a traditional bamboo hardwood floor to square off the vehicle’s aesthetics, it is completely made from natural materials, so if the rickshaw has been trashed in an accident, all you have to do is bury it to get rid of it. No more heavy pedaling under the hot sun once these babies hit the streets.