Custom-made Pink THAI-STYLE tuk tuks, electric, electric vehicles, electric motor, EV, electric car ownership auto-rickshaws in Liverpool, Merseyside,
Tuk tuks are a familiar sight on the streets of the Far East, Africa and Central America, ferrying tourists and commuters around town. But now the auto rickshaws have found a new home in Liverpool thanks to Tony Smith and his business savvy young family. It was while Tony, his wife Jaimie and their three children were on holiday in Thailand two years ago that the idea of bringing tuk tuks to the city first arose. “The one we were riding in was literally a Vespa with a shed on the back,” laughs the 35-year-old, “but Thomas, who was seven at the time, said to me ‘wouldn’t it be great to have these in Liverpool?’ The plan for Liverpool tuk tuks didn’t run smoothly at first and they suffered knock back after knock back as they attempted to get them up and running here. “But we kept ploughing on and overcoming every hurdle that was thrown at us, and the council’s licensing team and the then Lord Mayor Gary Millar were great because they steered us,” he adds. “What we first wanted to bring didn’t meet UK specifications, so I made an appointment with two manufacturers in Thailand and got on a plane the same night the council rejected it. I went for 10 days and met with them and picked one to work with. They were going to build us the longest tuk tuk in the world, five and a half metres and with 12 seats, but the DVLA said it didn’t meet regulations so we went back to the kitchen table. “That was when my youngest daughter Lily, who’s six, said ‘why can’t they be electric’?” Another trip to Thailand followed and Tony secured two tuk tuks to be a first for Liverpool. The business launched from the Albert Dock on December 12, and since then Tony says his 40-minute tours have met with only positive feedback from tourists surprised to see the quirky little vehicles. “They really love them, and we’re going to be adding some corporate events later this year." Source Liverpool Echo.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -wheeled, -wheeler, -wheelers, adult, adults, advertising, albert, asia, asian, attraction, attractions, auto, blue, britain, british, bus, business, car, cars, carts, centre, cities, city, culture, design, dock, dockside, drive, driver, eco-friendly, electric, emissions, england, english, enterprising, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, entrepreneurs, environmentally, eu, europe, european, female, ferrying, figure, figures, great, hire, icon, kingdom, licensed, liverpool, mersey, merseyside, motor, motorized, network, operates, operator, people, person, persons, powered, private, public, remorque, retro, rickshaw, rickshaws, ride, riders, riding, scooter, seaside, service, single, specifications, start, start-, street, streets, success, sunlit, sunny, symbol, taxi, taxis, thai-style, tour, touring, tourism., tourists, tours, traditional, traffic, transport, transportation, travel, travellers, travelling, tricycle, tuk, tuk-tuk, tuk-tuks, tuks, uk, united, vehicle, vehicles, venture, vintage, western, wheel, white, woman
