The rickshaw tour takes in all of Oxford’s famous sights and access to New College Lane and Queen’s Lane. Rickshaw guides are trained to give passengers information on the city and the university. The rickshaws are equipped to the latest European safety standards and provide protection from the vagaries of British weather since they are equipped with a rug and hot water bottle on cold days.

Technologically, the machines represent a vast improvement over the single gear Indian rickshaws. The chassis are made in a small workshop in Birmingham, with 21 gears, hydraulic brakes, halogen lights and lightweight frames. Steinhauer has a ready response to claims that not many people use them. "It’s working," she says, adding that business is "slow but sure, just like the rickshaw."

Steinhauer is enthusiatic about the enviromental benefits of the rickshaw in a city which is hit by car pollution. She not only recycles the rickshaw but also her profits. Ten per cent of the pre-tax profit is given to projects at home and abroad which promote clean air, clean water and small livelihoods, such as The Bridge Foundation in Bangalore which provides loans to rickshaw drivers to purchase their vehicles. She has also joined hands with the Gandhi Foundation to take appropriate technology to India: "The developing world must retain pedal power. They’re going the way we were 25 years ago, with disastrous consequences."

The Oxford Rickshaw Company has received a very favourable response from the media with world wide coverage as they have become a moving landmark of Oxford. They have appeared on both Blue Peter, the Antiques Show and the Inspector Morse series. Rickshaws also serve as a good source of revenue for the City Council since Steinhauer pays licence fees of 125 pounds per annum for each vehicle. The rickshaws have other benefits as well—job creation, tourist enhancement and providing a role model for sustainable development.

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