Richard takes kids to lessons with Thai transport

FOR the Bush family the daily school run is a little bit different from most families.

Instead of walking to school or being driven by car, children Amy and Alex are driven in style . . . by rickshaw.

People stand and stare as the rickshaw, ridden by dad Richard, makes the three-quarter of a mile journey from the family home in Cissbury Road, Worthing, to nearby Broadwater Primary School.

Amy, six, and Alex, eight, both revel in the attention the rickshaw gets from teachers andclassmates and are always asking dad to pick them up after school as well.

Mr Bush, 45, bought the rickshaw in Thailand to form a centre piece for his new shop QualiThai, which features all things Thai, including furniture, woodcarvings, ceramics and sunshades, and opens in Broadwater, Worthing, next week.

Mr Bush developed a fascination for Thai goods after several trips to friends living over there. He also imports boxes from the country for his other unusual business, making wooden boxes to contain the ashes of pets who have been cremated, and decided to bring over some unusual artefacts as well to set up a shop.

He said: "The children absolutely love being taken around in a rickshaw and it certainly generates a lot of interest. The surroundings are not quite as exotic as Thailand so we do stick out a lot but it is all great fun and very eye-catching.

"It normally takes Alex forever to get out of bed in the morning in time for school but if she knows we are going in the rickshaw then she's up and dressed at the crack of dawn and ready to go.

"I can't do it as often as I would like because I am frequently busy or rushed but whenever I have the chance I get the rickshaw out and off we go.

"My wife Ness thinks I'm a bit potty but she knows we all enjoy it and it is also keeping me fit. It's fine going towards the school as it is slightly downhill - it's coming back up the hill that's the real problem."

Alex said: "It is great fun and my friends think it is brilliant. I love going by rickshaw to school as it is so different and people are always asking what it is. A lot of my friends want to have a go in it now as well."

Handy guide to the rickshaw. . .

lThe rickshaw was invented by an American. The Rev Johnathan Scobie, a Baptist minister living in Yokohama, Japan, built the first model in 1869 to transport his invalid wife through the city streets.

l There are about 37,000 rickshaw riders in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

l Rickshaws operated by a driver on foot, pulling the carriage behind him, have now been banned throughout India except in Calcutta, where the union of rickshaw drivers refused to accept the legislation.

lThroughout Asia, rickshaws are the prime means of transport for children on their way to school.

l Rickshaws are now used as an alternative form of transport in Oxford and Cambridge to avoid traffic jams

on the narrow city-centre streets.

l Unlike the light-weight, 10-speed bicycle rickshaws used in the West, traditional rickshaws have no gears and can weigh up to 90 kilogrammes unloaded.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.