Q: Do you text?

Do you use text messaging as a regular form of communication? If you're a pedal cab driver, you probably do. If you're a pedal cab fleet owner, you probably don't. If you're a passenger/customer, you may or may not. At least, that's my perspective.

The majority of our drivers are in their 20s/30s and use text messaging on a daily basis. For some, this is their main form of communication (not including face-to-face). They'll fire off a text almost faster than you can read it.

A lot of passengers, especially if your cabs cater to the night scene, use text messaging as well. Although the older crowd may feel that a quick phone call works better.

As for fleet owners, well... most that we've talked with use text messaging very little if at all. However, there are some exceptions, so I'll admit up front that I'm speaking in broad generalities. If you don't text, you may want to start. It's a quick and easy way to stay in contact with your drivers, plus you'll have a temporary record of messages.

If you're not convinced, here are some reasons you may want to consider using text messaging:

• Texting is a much better way (than a phone call) to send phone numbers and addresses.
• Some drivers respond better to text messages; others to email. We send both to be sure we cover all our bases.
• If we've put out a critical email, we'll send an alert by text message telling them to check their email.
• If you need nothing more than a yes or no response, texting is the best way to get that. You'll have a record to look back on.
• Most phones are set up to send out text messages to groups, almost like a broadcast fax or email to a group. You can put your lead drivers in a special message group.
  
• If you need to remind drivers about an important event, like a meeting or special ride, text them. It's quick and easy.

Now, imagine if there was a way to use texting to communicate with your passengers. It is possible, but more challenging. There's a simple way drivers can employ texting with passengers. Drivers who give their cell number to passengers can have passengers call or text when they're ready to be picked up. Even if the text costs you a little, it's worth it if you can get more rides.

Text messaging used to be a pretty pricey feature in cell phone plans, but it's becoming more common and less expensive. Many plans include unlimited text messaging for little or no additional cost. Talk to your wireless phone provider about available options.

Please take time to answer the poll in the left-hand column.

Penal Tour de France

Le Prison Break: Tour de France Convict Style
posted at Wend Blog

The famed cycling tour that takes some of cycling’s best across the varied terrain of France commences on July 4th, but another group is finishing up their own Tour this Friday: inmates.

The “Penal Tour de France” kicked off on June 4th and has taken some 200 French prisoners and 100 cycling guards through 15 stages around the country.

The 2,300 kilometer race is intended to help the inmates regain confidence in themselves and help prepare them for a return to normal life. Riding in a two week bicycle race might not seem like much of a “normal life” but taking part in such an event can help the inmates “reintegrate into society by fostering values like effort, teamwork and self-esteem,” says prison official Sylvie Marion.

The prisoners, who are all serving jail terms between 5 and 10 years, are not ranked, cycle in a pack, and for obvious reasons, are not allowed to partake in breakaway sprints. No word on whether the prisoners will be ended their two week athletic venture at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe.

Check out this video about the cycling prisoners over at the BBC.

Montreal's Bike-Sharing Program

Montreal Inaugurates Continent’s Most Ambitious Bike-Sharing Program

“The user takes a bike from one of the stations, pays at an automated pay station, and drops the bike off at any pay station in the network. The bike becomes another mode of urban transport unto itself, a practical, economical, ecological and healthy alternative to energy-guzzling vehicles.”

Bixi is nothing if not ambitious. The service is starting out with 3,000 of the specially designed bicycles distributed among 300 closely-spaced stations in its downtown core. But while it was directly inspired by Vélib, the service that started in Lyon, France, before moving to Paris, Bixi differs in many respects.

Chief among them was a decision by the city to run the system itself, rather than use an outside operator, and to fund it with fees from users rather than relying on advertising. André Lavallée, the municipal politician who championed the Bixi, said that the advertising opportunities are more limited in Montreal, while city ownership allowed greater coordination with the city’s bus and subway system.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times...

Small is the new Big

I know this story isn't about pedicabs, but it made me think of all those minimalist pedicabbies living in tiny spaces. I don't know about the living habits of drivers in other cities, but we've had drivers who share a house communally with several other people. Some rent spaces as small as a closet, just to have a place to sleep and store a few belongings. We've been invited to some of the house parties which are always a lot of fun; like a big family with people coming and going throughout the evening. One particular house in Denver is known as "Pitchfork". Housemates have recruited each other into pedicabbing so much that every member of the house was a pedicab driver at one time or other.

He lives big in tiny digs: West Sider wins award for smallest, coolest pad
NYDailyNews.com

It's the biggest little honor out there.

A Manhattan man's 210-square-foot pad on the upper West Side earned the title of New York's smallest, coolest apartment from apartmenttherapy.com.

Kevin Patterson, 32, snagged first place in the "teeny tiny" division for his itsy-bitsy home on West End Ave.

"I moved here from a place that was four or five times this big," he said, explaining that he then sold off most of his belongings to remodel the studio into a mini-gem.

Patterson, a project manager at a real estate development firm, makes the most of his $1,550-a-month space with creative hidden storage and careful use of color, lighting, and mirrors.

There are drawers built into the bed, bins under couch cushions, shelves built into the walls, and even space behind a giant mirror to store a broom and cleaning supplies.

"Things are hidden everywhere," he said, confessing, "I'm actually not that tidy, but when people come over I can throw everything in cabinets."

To make the space look larger, the walls and furniture are mostly white, with just "pops of color here and there so it isn't so bland." Even the books are arranged by color.

As for decoration, Patterson keeps it simple. "In a space so small, you kind of have to stay minimalist or it gets really claustrophobic," he said.

Highlights include a ceramic Mao statue he picked up at a Chinese street market and a Christo print over the bed, along with framed family photos over the couch.

While his wasn't the most elaborate "teeny tiny" apartment entered into the contest, Patterson thinks he got the most votes because everyone could relate to the space.

"A lot of people were commenting, 'Oh, I have the same bed spread from West Elm or the same couch from Ikea,'" he said. "They said, 'Oh, that's a good idea, I should try that.'"