Rear view of a bicycle rickshaw transporting a passenger in downtown Hanoi.

Rear view of a bicycle rickshaw transporting a passenger in downtown Hanoi.

A bicycle rickshaw or "cyclo" driver transports a passenger through downtown Hanoi. One of Hanoi's wide, commercial boulevards is visible in the background.Cyclos look like large tricycles with a canopy-covered, double passenger seat in front of the handlebars. These vehicles are a popular form of public, short-distance transportation in many parts of urban Southeast Asia. Cyclos do not move quickly but they often can maneuver into alleys too small to accommodate, or be served by, public buses.Driving a cyclo is hard labor, generally done by men. Drivers often work long hours away from home, sometimes in tough urban neighborhoods. Throughout Southeast Asia, driving a bicycle rickshaw is a tiring and low-paying job, but it is a small business opportunity undertaken by urban men (often migrants) without access to land, capital or higher education.