Pedicabs a California polution solution

While New York City is limiting pedicab services, Fresno, California, is embracing them as part of a solution to air polution. Go figure. (Great job, Joe et al!)

Pedicab partnership aims to help clear air

Summer is undoubtedly the worst season for air quality in the Valley.

But the bright yellow pedicabs found at Fresno's most popular spots are doing something about it.

Shuttlebugz pedicabs, which are already carting people around River Park, the Tower District, Fulton Mall and at special events, have expanded to provide regular weekday service in downtown Fresno.

The new service will include food deliveries and rides in the area from Divisadero to Ventura streets and from R to G streets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The service, a pilot program running until Nov. 5, results from a partnership with the Shuttlebugz company, the city of Fresno's Department of Transportation and Fresno Area Express.

Through the partnership, the pedicab drivers will get a small stipend for working during the lunchtime hours, said Shuttlebugz owner Joseph Burke. The rest of the time, the drivers work only for tips.

The city of Fresno was interested in the program because "it provides a point A to point B service, and it's a method of green transportation with no kind of fuel or energy necessary," Burke said.

The three-wheeled pedicabs may not use gas or electricity, but they certainly require energy -- hauling around 600 pounds-worth of passengers and a 185-pound bike taxi reinvents the definition of "manpower."

Each driver logs 30 to 40 miles per day in the downtown area, taking people to and from workplaces and nearby eateries.

Former loan officer Robert Kurtz, 32, said he logged more than 60,000 miles on his regular bike in a year and thought he was in good shape for the job.

"But those first three shifts break your body down," he said. "I guess after two weeks you get used to it."

On workdays Kurtz drinks 22 glasses of water a day, stretches whenever he is stopped, and sleeps as much as possible, he said.

Three drivers work Fresno's downtown area every day. They do not follow a set route but roam areas where they are more likely to find more pedestrians, such as the courthouse, The Galleria and Fulton Mall, Kurtz said.

Drivers usually pick up random pedestrians but can be called at (559) 433-7373 to schedule a door-to-door ride.

It takes five minutes or less to respond to a call, Kurtz said. "We've never had someone call and then call back wondering where their ride is," he said.

Time-crunched downtown employees also can order and pay for their food by phone and then call a Shuttlebugz driver to have the food delivered to their workplace.

Pedicab operators mostly rely on tips for their services.

"The average tip is a couple of bucks a block," Kurtz said. "We give some free rides to people who really need to get somewhere fast but can't afford it. Good deeds like that come back to us anyway."

But big tippers are much appreciated, Kurtz said.

"If they tip well we can take them for a nice ride all the way to the top of the parking garages," Kurtz said.

Shuttlebugz will continue to serve the Tower District on Friday and Saturday nights, River Park on Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., special events at the Fresno Convention Center, Fresno State football games and Grizzlies games one hour before they start and about half an hour after they end, Kurtz said.