Rickshaw

An auto-rickshaw is a noisy three-wheel device powered by a two-stroke motorcycle engine with a driver up front and seats for two (or sometimes more) passengers behind. They don’t have doors (except in Goa) and have just a canvas top. They are also known as scooters or autos.
Although they are all made by Bajaj, it’s amazing how the designs differ from town to town. Design seems to be unique to a particular town: in Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, for example, the auto-rickshaws are fitted with an extra seat facing backwards, and so they can carry four people (although they’ll often carry eight or more).
They’re generally about half the price of a taxi, usually metered and follow the same ground rules as taxis.
Because of their size, auto-rickshaws are often faster than taxis for short trips and their drivers are decidedly nuttier – hair-raising near-misses are guaranteed and glancing-blow collisions are not infrequent, thrill-seekers will love it.
In busy town you’ll find that, when stopped at traffic lights, the height you are sitting at is the same as most bus and truck exhaust pipes- copping dirty great lungfuls of diesel fumes is part of the fun of auto-rickshaw travel. Also their small wheel size and rock-hard suspension makes them supremely uncomfortable; even the slightest bump will have you instantly airborne. The speed humps and huge potholes found every where are the bane of the rickshaw travelller-pity the poor drivers.

Tempo
Somewhat like a large auto-rickshaw, these ungainly looking three-wheel devices operate rather like minibuses or share-taxis along fixed routes. Unless you are spending large amounts of time in one city, it is generally impractical to try to find out what the routes are. You’ll find it much easier and more convenient to go by auto-rickshaw.