Cycle and rickshaw repair shop
A roadside shop repairing bicycles, rickshaws and e-rickshaws. It can start from about Tk 15,000 of tools and stock, and customers pay cash when the job is done.
- Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
- Version 1
Cycle and rickshaw repair shop
- Starting capital
- ৳15,000 – ৳1,20,000 Editorial estimate
- Manpower
- 1 – 3 people
- First sale
- 7 – 30 days Editorial estimate
- Break-even
- 2 – 6 months Editorial estimate
- Kind of work
- Workshop · Easy
About the business
A roadside shed, a pump, a few spanners and a box of tyres and tubes — that is the whole start-up for a cycle and rickshaw repair shop, and there is no lower-capital skilled trade in Bangladesh. Work walks in: punctures, slipped chains, dead brakes, worn bearings, broken spokes. The customer pays cash on the spot, so there is almost no credit problem. The second income line is selling the part itself: on 16 September 2026 a 26-inch bicycle/rickshaw inner tube was listed online at Tk 221-335 and a tyre at Tk 485-600, while a DC motor with kit for a battery rickshaw was Tk 10,350-10,500. The shop no longer sees only pedal rickshaws. Battery rickshaws and easy-bikes now dominate, and a mechanic who learns motor, controller and wiring work earns far more from the same shed. That side is about to be regulated. On 17 August 2026 the Local Government Division said separate e-rickshaw rules are being drafted: registration moves to city corporations and municipalities, a fitness certificate will be required, and vehicles recharged by anything other than solar power will not get registration or renewal. Dhaka is to be split into eight zones with a different rickshaw colour each. If that lands, garage recharging work shrinks but fitness-driven repair work grows.
Unit economics
| Item | Range | Evidence | Suggest a correction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly working capital | ৳8,000 – ৳40,000 | Editorial estimate | |
| Selling price | ৳221 – ৳600 / unit | Market quote | |
| Variable cost | ৳188 – ৳420 / unit | Editorial estimate | |
| Gross margin | 15% – 30% | Editorial estimate | |
| Time to first revenue | 7 – 30 days | Editorial estimate | |
| Break-even time | 2 – 6 months | Editorial estimate | |
| Cash cycle | 0 – 1 days | Editorial estimate | |
| Waste / loss | 2% – 5% | Editorial estimate | |
| Daily capacity | 3 – 12 | Editorial estimate |
What you need to start
- Pump, spanner and wrench set, chain tool, spoke key, tyre levers, vice, hammer, pliers and patches with solution. A 16-in-1 bicycle repair kit starts at Tk 172 on Daraz.Equipment
- Tubes Tk 221-335, tyres Tk 485-600 (26-inch, Daraz 16-09-2026), chains, bearings, balls, spokes, brake shoes. For battery work, a DC motor with kit is Tk 10,350-10,500.Starting stock
- Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, non-judicial stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, plus VAT and signboard fee. Issued in 3-5 working days, renewed yearly.Licence
- Removing and refitting wheels, truing a rim by tightening spokes, setting chains and brakes, changing bearings. For battery rickshaws, add motor, controller and wiring work.Skill
- A wholesale parts shop. Bangshal in old Dhaka is the main national market; in district towns, the local parts market.Supplier
- A 100-200 sq ft roadside shop or tin shed with room in front to park a vehicle. Sitting on a footpath or government land carries an eviction risk.Workspace
How the work is done
- 1Look for a spot beside a rickshaw or easy-bike garage, a market junction or a school road - anywhere many wheels pass daily. Customers push a broken vehicle rather than carry it, so distance decides everything.
- 2Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300 plus the licence fee for the trade type. It usually takes 3-5 working days.
- 3Buy the core tools: pump, spanner and wrench set, chain tool, spoke key, tyre levers, patches and solution, and a vice. A 16-in-1 bicycle tool kit starts at Tk 172 on Daraz.
- 4Bring in the first stock: tubes, tyres, chains, bearings, balls, spokes, brake shoes and pedals. Stock deepest in whatever breaks most; order the rest as it is asked for.
- 5Fix a wholesale supplier. Bangshal in old Dhaka is the country's main cycle and rickshaw parts market; in a district town the parts shops are usually clustered on one junction.
- 6Fix a labour rate list and hang it in the shop: so much for a puncture, so much for a chain, so much for brakes. It cuts haggling and stops the complaint of two prices for the same job.
- 7Learn motor, controller and wiring work on battery rickshaws and easy-bikes. That is where the volume and the rates are now - a DC motor with kit is Tk 10,350-10,500.
- 8Talk to nearby garage owners. One garage runs 20-50 rickshaws, and steady work from it stabilises the shop's income - but agree the credit terms up front.
- 9Check with the city corporation or municipality where the new e-rickshaw rules land. Registration and fitness certificates will push fitness-driven repair work up, while the solar recharging condition will cut garage charging work.
- 10Write down each day's jobs and parts used. Knowing which part moves fastest stops money sitting dead in the stock box.
Seasons
- JanNormal
- FebNormal
- MarNormal
- AprNormal
- MayNormal
- JunHigh
- JulHigh
- AugHigh
- SepHigh
- OctNormal
- NovNormal
- DecNormal
Where it works well
- Strong fitBogura · The northern trading hub, with both small engineering workshops and a parts market.
- Strong fitDhaka · The country's largest rickshaw and easy-bike fleet is here, and Bangshal in old Dhaka is the biggest wholesale parts market.
- Strong fitGazipur · Garment workers commute heavily by bicycle and easy-bike.
- Strong fitNarayanganj · Dense settlement and factory belts, where workers commute by cycle and rickshaw.
- Strong fitRangpur · Battery autorickshaws and vans are the main transport across the north, with a large fleet in every upazila town.
- PossibleCumilla · A large easy-bike fleet around the highway and markets.
- PossibleJashore · Bicycle use is high, especially for rural commuting.
- PossibleKushtia · A high density of easy-bikes and vans, with few repair shops in the surrounding upazila towns.
- PossibleMymensingh · Heavy bicycle use in the town and the university area.
- Weak fitSylhet · The city is in dispute over whether battery rickshaws may run at all, so workload is uncertain.
Risks and cautions
- MediumCompliance: The rules for battery rickshaws are changing. On 17 August 2026 the Local Government Division said separate e-rickshaw rules are being drafted, registration moves to city corporations and municipalities, a fitness certificate will be required, and vehicles not recharged by solar power will not be registered or renewed. Dhaka is to be split into eight colour-coded zones with geo-fencing. A shop earning mostly from battery rickshaws will have to change how it works.
- MediumDemand: Demands to ban or restrict battery rickshaws keep resurfacing, and cities including Sylhet have seen rival protests over it. If a city shuts e-rickshaws down, repair work there collapses overnight.
- MediumWorking capital: Money dies in stock. A tyre size, chain or bearing that moves slowly sits in the box for months. A single DC motor ties up Tk 10,500, and if it does not sell it freezes a small shop's entire cash.
- MediumOther: Location risk. These shops usually sit in a rented tin shed, on a footpath or at the roadside. A city corporation eviction drive or a landlord taking the plot back means dismantling the whole shop, and because customers come to the place rather than the person, moving loses them.
Sources
সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ
Collected: 16 Sept 2026Supports: Starting capital, Time to first revenue · বাংলাদেশ
What changed
No corrections have been published yet.
Questions and answers
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Stories about this business
From repair hand to garage owner, and 1,000 taka a month per rickshaw for a token
A battery rickshaw returns 300 taka a day in rent against 100 for a pedal one, which is why a repair hand opened his own garage - but each rickshaw needs a 1,000-taka monthly token to run at all.
- Reasons
- Compliance, Working capital
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