A Portable Seat Design for Rickshaw: Improving The Passenger Comfort against Excessive Jerking on The Road

Abstract

Passengers who travel in rickshaws in Bangladesh often face serious issues due to the uncomfortable sitting arrangements which can cause pain, health hazards from prolonged vibration exposure. Due to these vibration on the human body, several health issues can occur such as muscle strain and sprains, back and spinal issues, joint pain, whiplash effect, fatigue and internal injuries, etc. The goal of this research was to fabricate a portable seat that will work as an energy-absorbing component and reduce vibration resulting from the jerking effects of the road, reducing the adverse acceleration of the body of the passenger. Previous studies have mostly focused on seats in trains and buses, ignoring the seats of rickshaws. To address this issue, a portable seat has been fabricated that can be easily integrated with the current rickshaw system. Two distinct combinations of various impact-absorbing materials have been used here in this research, and the performance of the portable seat were evaluated using experiments. Through the experiments, it was evident that the portable seat reduced the acceleration of the passenger body resulting from the jerking effects of the road by absorbing the direct impact of the jerking effect, especially the acceleration of the lower back of the passenger. The results of the experimental tests which were conducted with both of the combinations of the energy-absorbing materials, were compared in which, one of the combinations exhibited better reduction of the vibration. It can be concluded that this initiative is very important for promoting safer and more comfortable ways of transportation, which will enhance everyday experiences and the general quality of traveling for rickshaw riders.