Chinese Three Ways, Shanghai
Chinese people usually come in threes, as family units are made up of two parents and a single child. But you can also see other types of three-ways (the G-rated kind) around Shanghai on scooters:
Although technically made only for two people, scooters often carry three, as Chinese friends don’t mind cramming a bit in the name of efficiency…
But if you have younger, smaller children, some larger scooters can quite comfortably fit three people… Especially if you add a chair in the front:
So it’s the perfect vehicle for a family on a budget, as most scooters can carry the whole family while costing next to nothing because they run on electricity… But there were two issues I saw when examining this picture:
1 – the child is standing up and facing backwards, which can’t be the safest way to ride a scooter.
2 – the lights are no in sync in the background, as the one of the left is yellow and the one of the right is green with 1 second left… Not the safest situation for a child on a crowded scooter.
But I guess three on a scooter doesn’t seem that dangerous or out of the ordinary for Chinese people, as you can also sometimes see scooters with four people… That’s a bit much if you ask me, even if (especially if) there is a child on board.
ahaha, picture # 4, with the kid in the front and positioning backward. I’ve seen a fully grown golden retriever in the same position, and riding with two persons on the bike as well. The dog’s paws were on the driver’s laps and he was holding his paws with one hand while the other hand driving…
Did you happen to get a picture of that?! If so, that would be amazing!!!! I would love to see that… I’m always so impressed with how many people and how much stuff Chinese people can fit on their scooters.
No unfortunately… it happened too fast…. Yes, definitely extremely creative! It’s such a funny/ quirky city to live in, never ran out of ideas to amuse!
Great site by the way!