Street Justice in L.A.

L.A. sees big jump in bike thefts, prompting some vigilante justice

Some bike messengers last month took justice into their own hands when they caught two suspected thieves, teenage boys who attended a local Catholic high school. According to police, the messengers stripped down the teens to their boxer shorts before taking their cellphones, backpacks and clothes.

“They meted out street justice. We don’t condone street justice. They never threatened them. But they made it clear: don’t mess with another person’s property,” Los Angeles Police Lt. Paul Vernon said. “This incident and the arrests are the tip of the iceberg when comes to people stealing bicycles.”

Read the rest of the article at LATimes.com

Restrictions were bound to happen

 

Pepsi Center, Denver Colorado
(Photo © 2005 Jackie Shumaker)

 

We've taken some heat for the article about pedicab restrictions at two local venues that appeared in Saturday's Denver Post. When reporter Ann Schrader called, Greg gave her names and numbers for numerous other people to interview including current drivers and fleet owners. Whether she did or not, I don't know.

Most of the complaints have come from drivers who haven't been around nearly as long as we have. They're too new to remember "how it used to be," and haven't watched the deterioration of courtesy and service among drivers. Granted, we aren't running a large fleet any longer, but we still talk with many of the drivers and keep our fingers on the pulse of what's happening downtown. And you don't have to be a driver to see the chaos around certain locations in town. That said, let me provide a little history lesson.

How pedal cab drivers should behave at the Pepsi Center and other venues is and old argument. There are numerous posts about the subject on this blog...
Wake up and Repent!
Things that Matter

All you have to do is click on a related category like turf wars, regulations, or sporting events, and you'll see that pedicab etiquette is an issue in cities worldwide.

In the years that we ran a large fleet of cabs, we went to bat for the drivers more than once. We tried to convince the management of the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field that pedicabs were a good thing, a means of green transportation, valuable to the patrons and the venue. Each time, year after year, it became harder to convince them to trust the drivers to manage themselves, especially as complaints from customers continued to come in. We'd settle on a set of rules, then drivers would refuse to abide by them saying, "We never agreed to that, so we're not gonna go along with it." We had some control over our own drivers, but not over independents or those who rode for other companies.

The decision was inevitable. We weren't surprised when we got a call from one of our old drivers telling us that free access of pedicabs to the Pepsi Center was being shut off. The Pedicab Gauntlet, as we called it, was about to be dismantled.

During the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, pedicab drivers were heroes. In many cases, they were the best and only way to quickly get from one location to another downtown. Demand was so high during the event that drivers had to hide just to grab a bite to eat. Even the police and security, including those at the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field, said the drivers were great.

How things change. One day you're the hero; the next day you're the heel.

The Downtown Denver Partnership has supported pedicabs for years, realizing their value in bringing passengers directly to businesses, serving as ambassadors for the city, and adding ambiance to downtown. But they watch what goes on, especially during special events, and now record violations that can impact fleet owners' ability to renew licenses.

Who knows? Maybe the Pepsi Center instituted these restrictions with the intent of bringing in their own fleet of pedal cabs. We've heard that rumor for a couple of years now. The parking management company has connections to a fleet outside of Denver that told me they were planning to bring their cabs into downtown. I'm sure it would be much easier for them to restrict access to Pepsi Center property to their own drivers who have to follow their rules.

In our experience, pedicab drivers are a tough bunch to manage. They are, by nature, fun-loving, charming, independent and rebellious. They like a job that lets them do whatever they want whenever they want, and don't understand or easily adapt to rules of the business world. During our tenure, we had strict hiring and training protocols; however, it was difficult to constantly monitor the behavior of drivers spread out across the downtown area. Once a new driver was let loose, we had to trust that our training would kick in and safety and service would be the priorities.

Currently, many of the drivers have never had any real training. The City doesn't require any sort of test to get a pedal cab owner or driver license, although it does require a clean driving record, a background check, and liability insurance. Not all owners provide drivers with training, requiring nothing more than a license from the City. There are now, and always have been, unlicensed drivers pedaling the streets of Denver.

Drivers who are part of a fleet are not employees; they aren't even independent contractors because they aren't paid directly by the company. They pay rent for the cab and keep anything they make in fares and tips. When there's a problem, they expect management to solve it for them rather than banding together and solving it themselves.

Overall, most drivers want all the rewards but little, if any, responsibility.

Don't get me wrong. There are some really awesome pedal cab drivers in Denver and across the country. They take good care of their passengers, follow the rules of the road, and really care about the future of the industry in their city. The entire group cannot and should not be judged by the actions of a few bad apples. But it's the bad apples that upset the apple cart. When pedicabbing becomes more about the money and less about the fun of getting paid to ride a bike and the camaraderie that comes from working the street scene together, quality of service is bound to deteriorate.

It's unfortunate that the nightly income will likely be reduced, especially now in this bad economy when drivers have seen fewer rides and smaller tips already. For some, pedicabbing is their main or only source of income. Many of them rely on sporting events and concerts to make money. I expect some drivers will leave pedicabbing now that the easy money to be made at the Pepsi Center is curtailed.

I hate to say it, but I have to say it: We told you so.

Denver pedallers restricted at lucrative venues

Pedicabs' free range curtailed at Pepsi Center, Mile High

To tame the pedicab pandemonium on Denver's streets, two sports venues have worked out some rules of engagement with the pedal pushers.

Some drivers say the new rules are cutting into their nightly pay for propelling passengers on the three-wheeled vehicles. But other drivers and officials of the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field at Mile High say that a growing number of aggressive drivers brought the changes upon themselves.

"In all honesty, it's chaos out there," said Greg Duran, who has operated a pedicab company and been a driver for half a dozen years.

Complaints were mounting about pedicabs flying through parking lots, cutting across grass, careening through crowds on sidewalks and being a bit too zealous in soliciting customers.

"I'm sure it was just a few guys, but it created the feeling for change," said Scott Gales, spokesman for Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which owns the Pepsi Center.

Pepsi Center officials and pedicab representatives met to discuss the situation and collaborated to reach the new rules.

In changes that took effect Tuesday, pedicab drivers must drop off or pick up passengers in a specific area near the Pepsi Center's east entrance. No more driving in the parking lots, on the "Ring Road," on what the Pepsi Center refers to as "the Spine" — the sidewalk that leads up to the main entrance — or to other entrances.

"We pretty much had free rein to go anywhere," said Stephen Drenen who has been driving for a year and a half.

Now, Drenen says, driving a pedicab — his sole source of income — means making $6 for one ride at a Pepsi Center event instead of $60 for several rides. The going rate is two bucks a block.

"Every pedicab is in that one spot rather than spread out," Drenen said. "We're working one door rather than five, and people don't go out the same doors and won't walk around the building to where we are."

Duran, who owns one of 21 pedicab companies licensed to operate in Denver, disagrees.

"The rules are nothing unreasonable," Duran said. Pepsi Center officials "gave the drivers the opportunity to manage themselves, but there are quite a few independents who don't abide by the rules, and they lost their privilege."

Fanning the fire, Duran said, is the increase in pedicab drivers' numbers. Denver records show individuals licensed to pedal passengers nearly doubled between 2007 and 2009, in large part due to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Denver police say there are no big pedicab problems, and downtown boosters call them needed transportation.

"People think they are fun, and they add character and ambiance downtown," said Sarah Neumann of the Downtown Denver Partnership.

Over at Invesco Field at Mile High, new rules went into effect for the last two Bronco games in December.

"Fans expressed concerns throughout the season, so we monitored it for a few games," said Matt Shine, Invesco's parking and site manager.

Pickup and dropoff points were set at Lot C on the stadium's west side and on the east side near the rock garden and the Bronco bridge to the light-rail station. A pedicab lane was marked on the bridge.

From The Denver Post