Went to the Brighton on a picnic along with 20+ people on Saturday. The thing that interested me was the sight of few auto rickshaws in the roads of Brighton. They were painted in various different colours and it was nice to see them ply. We also spotted some auto stops and people were queuing up there to get into that vehicle. The autos were operating under a brand name Tuc Tuc (pronounced as ‘tak tak’). Seems that there are 12 auto rickshaws in Brighton (and for the whole of UK) and they are plying on a fixed route with fixed fare, which works out to be cheaper than taxis. All the 12 autos are owned by the same guy, who had visited India & Sri Lanka few years back and got inspired to start a fleet of autos in UK. As there were concerns about safety, category in which this would be licensed (taxi or bus), it took him 3 years to get the business on its wheels (literally) after passing all the tests (the autos have even got a seat belts in them). Seems that this vehicle is a big hit in Brighton and he has got plans to expand into other towns in UK and also in mainland Europe. The best part about this is whenever these vehicles pass by any Indian restaurant or a group of Indian people; they wave at the drivers, who seem to be very happy about it.

As Tuc Tuc expands their operations, in due course they would realise that it would make sense to import ‘skills’ from India. Some time down the line, when the great auto drivers of Chennai start driving those three wheelers in Britain, the roads in this country would present a very different shape.

There seems to have been some media coverage for Tuc Tuc in Telugu. A friend of mine sent this.

I reckon that the 0% interest on balance transfers is one of the most exploited options, when it comes to credit card. I know several people who have spend few thousand pounds through their credit card, transfer the balance to a new card who would offer interest free period for the first 6 or 9 months, after which you apply for a new card and do the same. This way, for years together they haven’t been paying any interest, but only the minimum balance. I have also used this option for a small sum few years back.

I don’t know what/who caused the banks to wake up, but when I search for such an option now, I find that almost all the banks charge 2% handling fee for balance transfers there by making this option unattractive. Yet, there are few banks in some hidden corner who still offer this facility. The key lies in finding them and reading through the small print.