Calcutta rickshaws to be replaced by energy efficient taxis

Calcutta today decreed a law stating that human powered rickshaws were henceforth forbidden from operating within city limits due to moral issues involved in a human being transporting another human being on the strength of his own muscles. (via Amit)

Following the issuance of this ordinance, the mayor of Calcutta ordered all rickshaws to be taken off the roads immediately, to be replaced by energy efficient taxicabs, which would be provided to all rickshaw operators deprived of their livelihood due to the implementation of this new law. These new taxis are reportedly state of the art transportation machines, able to operate on a miniscule energy requirement, pollution free and bereft of any additional operating costs.

The Energy Efficient Taxi, or as it is called, the EET, is remarkably easy to operate. For the EET to embark on it's voyage, the operator needs to depress the ON button, also known colloquially as a "pedal", which operates certain levers within the cavernous interior of the cab and propels it forward. In case the terrain to be navigated is not level or does not consist of a downslope, the "pedal" might be required to be depressed a number of times in quick succession. The vehicle may be conveniently halted in its progress by reducing the pressure on the "pedal" and simultaneously applying brakes, which can be found on the handlebars of the taxicab.

In addition to being eco friendly, this new breed of taxicabs threatens to overwhelm conventional methods of transport like buses and trains by it's sheer wallet-friendliness. Travelers in Calcutta expressed their support for these new taxicabs, adding the opinion that previously, with the human powered rickshaws, they had been experiencing moral conflicts caused by being transported by a fellow human being, which were now solved by the elimination of the human factor due to the introduction of this revolutionary new pedal technology.

In other news, with August 27 being declared as an auspicious day for women to go into labor, New Delhi is preparing to deal with monster jams and traffic on that day, consisting of people traveling to area hospitals in order to deliver their babies.