An Oldham Tuk Tuk and cycle rickshaw owner is hoping to add new additions to his ‘fleet’.

Shozzad Miah has been running Oldham Tuk Tuk since 2018 hiring the world famous vehicle for special events and weddings. He says he wants to add some more traditional vehicles to his collection which he hopes will be just as popular as the Tuk Tuk.

His distinctive Tuk Tuk, which many may have seen on the streets of Oldham comes distinctive sounds, lights and a floral roof. The cycle rickshaw has been used to transport brides and grooms to weddings.

Shozzad who is known as Shozzy to many said, “The Tuk Tuk we have was imported from India the passed through Vosa to make it road legal. Then decorated to our needs.

“It was difficult back then to get it here but if you know someone in that import trade then its a lot easy.

“Both the Tuk Tuk and Cycle Rickshaw are really unique and that is why we get a lot of requests from events from Oldham and across the North of England.

"We want to add to our collection with some more traditional vehicles from South Asia in the future as these have been so popular. Of course with the lockdown it is difficult to say when this will be."

The auto rickshaw is a motorised version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw which are popular across South and East Asia. Bajaj Auto of Pune, India is the world's largest auto rickshaw manufacturer, selling 780,000 a year. The cycle rickshaw is also popular in central London and used by tourists.

Shozzad said the lockdown had affected his business but he was optimistic about the future, “Most of customers have changed the dates to their events and re-booked towards the end of the year and some have changed them to next year.

"It is all about keeping customers save and well and hopefully in the coming months things can change for the better.”

He added, “We have been hiring both the Tuk Tuk and rickshaw for weddings, birthday, mehndis, business events and corporate events.

“We have all sorts of requests over the time we have had it. People do like to drive it themselves which is not allowed."