GEORGE TOWN: Six friends have come up with an interesting way to look out for trishaw riders whose income has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

       Priscilla Ho, the founder of Creativity at Heart, and five others started the “Ride of Hope” programme which provides each rider with RM100 every month.

       She said the programme, which began in May, would run until December.

       “We have 60 riders under this programme. All they need to do is pedal along a particular route in exchange for two vouchers worth RM50 each.

       “Most of the time, they do not have to ferry passengers due to the current restrictions.

       “This programme is meant to give them hope,” Ho said in an interview.

       She added that the initiative was mooted to help trishaw riders keep pedalling as this was how they earned a living.

       “We do not want them to feel like they are begging, even though some of them are homeless.

       “This is not a charity effort. It makes them feel seen and heard,” she said, adding that about 30 people were contributing funds for the rides.

       Ho said the riders conducted two rides without passengers in George Town each month.

       “They pedal from Armenian Street to the Clock Tower, Chulia Street, Penang Road and Carnavon Street, and then return to the starting point,” she said.

       Ho pointed out that most of the trishaw riders were aged 55 and above, with the oldest being 74.

       “We must make life meaningful for them as some have been pedalling for the last 35 years. They should not be forgotten,” she said.

       The trishaw riders have been hit hard by the pandemic due to a lack of tourists.

       There have not been any international cruises or domestic travellers due to the interstate travel ban.

       On Wednesday, some 140 trishaw riders in Penang received their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, paving the way for the state to embark on a long-term rebranding strategy for one of its symbols.

       State tourism and creative economy committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the trishaw riders were inoculated at the one-stop vaccination centre in Dewan Sri Pinang here.

       Besides giving them licences and sanitising their trishaws, the state government also provided them with medical check-ups, haircuts and some food.