Keeping Horse-drawn Cabs

It was not that long ago when horse-drawn cabs, locally known as karozzini, were today's equivalent of taxis. Today karozzini, an integral part of Maltese folklore, are still on the streets, sometimes much to the exasperation of hurried drivers who get caught behind one hoofing gently on some narrow road where it is impossible to overtake.

But their role has changed. They are no longer a mode of transport as such, but are more used for fun rides, taking tourists to see popular areas around Valletta, Sliema and Mdina.

There are around 60 karozzini in all on Maltese roads, most of which are at least 80 years old, some much older. The man who is keeping them on the road is Saviour Friggieri, of Hamrun, who followed his grandfather's and father's footsteps. Saviour's ancestors were among the prime makers of karozzini, as well as horse-drawn carts.

The karozzin-making industry has collapsed, having been dealt a near mortal blow by progress when cars hit the roads. But the ones that survive are still maintained in top condition and Saviour is one, or rather the one, of a dying breed who still maintains them. What will happen when he retires in a year or two, no one knows.

"My sons are not interested in doing what I am doing -repairing them. One works with a cab but none want to be bogged in this workshqp," he says.

He is 59 and says he is "getting tired" of it now. He has been in the same workshop, used by his ancestors off the busy main road in Hamrun, since he was four-and-a-half. The workshop was his playground then, and he grew up among pieces of wood destined to become wheels, and his ears got accustomed to the sound of hammer hitting red-hot iron bars on all anvil at a very young age.

"You have to be a blacksmith and a carpenter to be able to make or repair karozzini. I leave the paintwork and upholstery work to others; making wheels and lining them with steel and fixing shafts and broken springs is tough enough," he says, while hammering a red-hot iron ring around a wheel he is constructing.
When the job is done, he straightens himself up and explains why the ring around the wheel has to be hammered while it is still glowing.
"When the steel is hot, it expands and only shrinks when cold. Thus you have to insert the tight-fitting ring when it is hot so that it shrinks and becomes one with the wood. Otherwise it would become loose in no time," he says.

The wheels of karozzini resemble those of the old horse-drawn carts, but are more elegant, being somewhat slimmer. But they are made in the same manner. Hard and lasting ash wood is used for the spokes and the hub in which they fit, locally called buttun, is carefully worked on a lathe.

Spokes are then inserted in it and join it to the outer circle around which the steel rim is finally fitted. To ensure that the rim stays in place, this is screwed to the wooden part. With so few karozzini around, one would not expect Saviour to be so busy. Karozzini suffer a lot of damage on the roads. Sleeping policemen and ramps introduced lately have increased the stress on the moving parts. The steering part and springs really suffer a lot of damage," he says. The design of the karozzin is rather simple. A metal frame with wheels designed to be pulled by a horse supports a cabin for two to four passengers. But the apparently simple design has a lot of complexities.

The metal frame used to be made from bars of steel that were heated, drawn, twisted, hammered and filed into the desired shapes. Springs and shafts used to be imported and meticulously assembled so that everything fitted well, without any play, as this led to faults developing much faster. Wheels had to be designed according to the size of the prospective cab and everything had to be of the right shape and size.
"I have a karozzin that was made by my father and still use it on Sundays. It used to take him months to make one and even longer to make his own because other people's jobs were always given priority," says Saviour. "Karozzini are more appreciated by tourists, who would want to take a ride and snap photos with them in the background. Sometimes they are hired to be used  in weddings and by students when they graduate. But they don't make our life an easy one. Traffic is becoming increasingly chaotic and the joy of a karozzin ride is pacing slowly so that passengers have time to look around. We have a right to be on the road just as cars do because we are regulated and have a licence issued annually by the Transport Authority. So some drivers should be more patient.

"Even we have a lot of waiting time, and unlike drivers who sit comfortably in their car, we have to wait come rain, wind or sunshine before customers hire us. You have to keep your karozzin prim and proper and you also have to take care of the horse. We have more than a family to feed from our job!" A ride on a karozzin should not cost an arm and a leg and karozzin drivers are usually very friendly. There is no harm in asking what it would cost you before you take a ride though as there are no really fixed prices and routes may vary in length.

Grip