The tuk-tuk is the Thai version of a vehicle known elsewhere as an auto rickshaw, and is a widely used form of urban transport in Bangkok and other Thai cities, where traffic congestion is a major problem. The tuk-tuk has a tin or iron body resting on three small wheels (one in front, two on the rear), a small cabin for the driver in the front and seating for three in the rear.
Tuk-tuks are generally fitted with a motorcycle version of a two-stroke engine with a handlebar for control instead of a steering wheel, effectively making them a three-wheeler motorcycle carrying passengers on the rear seat. The tuk-tuk is named after the sound its two-stroke engine makes. It may have been derived from a similar Japanese non-motorised automobile in the 1950s. Tuk-tuks are quite powerful, and can go faster than taxis, particularly in heavy traffic.
A lot of tuk-tuk drivers are from the provinces and have a reputation for not knowing Bangkok very well and therefore getting people lost. Tuk-tuks do not have meters and users generally bargain with the driver for a price to take them to a specified destination. Unless this done drivers tend to go a long way round and the trip will be more expensive than taking a taxi, although even then it may well still be quicker.
Drivers also earn money by having advertising posters and placards on their tuk-tuks. In early 2005 many of them were covered in advertising for the 6 February election. Most drivers also decorate their tuk-tuks with religious charms and small Buddha images.
A tuk-tuk is featured in The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
