History of Cyclo

Futuristic Cyclo, Kampucheers (2023)

In early 1920s, "vélo-pousse", or push bicycle, was introduced to Indochina region by a French engineer, Pierre Coupeaud, as a more humane replacement for a new fleet of transportations. Since 1936, cyclo has been an iconic, cultural transportation in Southeast Asia. The three-wheeled taxi was popular in Cambodia's Golden Age, like the song "Jis Cyclo" by Yos Olarong, a Cambodian Rock and Roll Singer in the 1960s.

When I was young, my late-grandmother used to take me on a cyclo, going around Phnom Penh, and we take cyclo to go to school, and to the market. My grandmother loved dancing as a morning exercise at the Riverside Boulevard, in front of the Royal Palace. This is why, cyclo is a nostalgic memory to myself, reminding me of my grandmother.

Today, there are only 250 cyclos in Cambodia. Cyclo has been on the verge of extinction; faced with the emergence of faster modes of transport like motorbikes and tuk-tuks.