New Operation and Opportunities in Denver

If you didn't notice it in the Westword article posted on April 24, the word is officially out... After managing the day-to-day operations for two and a half years, Teri and Greg have parted ways with Mile High Pedicabs. The separation wasn't pretty, but it was inevitable.

That's right. We're happy and free and launching our own elite fleet of cabs in Denver: Colorado Rickshaw Company. We waited to announce this on the blog until the paperwork (insurance, license, etc.) was completed. We're now rocking and rolling on the streets of Denver and nearby neighborhoods.

We've wanted to expand our business, but the constraints of our relationship with Mile High kept us from moving forward in the direction we wanted. With encouragement and support from operators, drivers and other associates, we're now pedalling our own rickshaw on our own trail.

Thanks to everyone who listened to and advised us. You know who you are.

Compared to our previous management, our initial fleet is fairly small; just 5 pedal cabs. But we have the experience and resources to grow when and how we choose. We've realized that bigger isn't always better. Greg is happy to have the time and energy to be out on the street as a driver again, since that's what he loved in the first place!

Colorado Rickshaw will provide rickshaws for special events, weddings, and tours in addition to transporting passengers at sporting events and around the downtown area. Our focus is on superior customer service, professional business practices, and continuing to support and promote the rickshaw industry.

We established City Cycle Logic (City Cycle Lodging in the Westword article) when we moved into our new facilities last year. Manging over 20 cabs and over 50 drivers never allowed us time to fully develop the concept. In additional to rickshaws, CCL will house green businesses and organizations in a central hub in downtown Denver.

We've formed our own pedal media company: Smart Ads Media. We're selling advertising on rickshaws and arranging events not only in Denver but in cities across North America. If you need help getting advertising on your cabs, or if you're interested in placing your brand on pedicabs, please contact us.

We will continue to provide training and consulting to new and existing operators through Big Tree Pedicab Management and Pedicab University. In fact, you will likely see more in this area of our repertoire.

Things have been pretty hectic over the past few weeks, but progress is being made. We'll keep you informed as we continue to press forward.

Pedicabs in Denver's Westword

Wheels of Fortune (Excerpts)
Steve Meyer wants to sell pedicabs to the world — but is the world willing to go along for the ride?

By Joel Warner Published: April 24, 2008

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Some drivers, like Ed Martin, have been doing this for years; for others, this will be their first summer on the streets. Many are hard-core bike enthusiasts, thrilled by the chance to earn money doing what they love; others simply like the exercise. Experienced drivers willing to hustle can take home several hundred dollars for a long night of work. While most have day jobs, a few regulars drive pedicabs full-time, and they make so much cash they don't like to state their income, fearing the IRS may call.

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Dude, you're bad-ass, man!" exclaims the rider when Martin hits the brakes in front of the ballpark.

[Do we refer to you as "Bad-ass Beefsteak" now?]

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Inventor-entrepreneur Steve Meyer hopes to spread that gospel far and wide. The majority of the pedicabs in Denver were made by his company, Main Street Pedicabs in Broomfield, the largest pedicab manufacturer in North America, having supplied about 1,500 vehicles to cities around the world over the past fourteen years.

But the rolling revolution has experienced a few bumps along the way. Many cities have resisted the vehicles, citing safety concerns and traffic issues, while the pedicab industry itself has struggled with casting off its fly-by-night reputation.

But the industry could get a lift this summer when the Democratic National Convention comes to town. Meyer and others hope pedicabs will be seen as the perfect "green" mode of transportation for an event that bills itself as the "most environmentally sustainable Democratic Convention in history" — not to mention a key solution to possible citywide congestion that could make the Rockies' opener look easy.

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That could soon change, however. Greg Duran, the former manager of Mile High Pedicabs, recently split to start his own business, Colorado Rickshaw, with his wife, Teri Robnett. "It's going to be small, it's going to be elite, and it's going to provide optimum customer service," says Duran, who also runs a pedicab consulting company. The operation, which will include city tours and other novel pedicab uses, will be based at what will be called "City Cycle Lodging" — a bike-related garage and office on Arapahoe Street, a few blocks off the 16th Street Mall.

[Uh hem, that's supposed to be City Cycle Logic, but Lodging works too. "Stay at City Cycle Lodging: the place where pedal cabs and cruiser bikes rest in comfort." A little self-promotion, I know.]
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"It's been the pattern ever since the 1950s," Burden says. "There was a serious attempt to rid downtowns of people, to only allow the returning GIs homes in the 'burbs. And streets were built with various incentives, allowing us to build these massive arterials and giving people a huge amount of money to build in a suburban style." The impact has been tremendous: "Forty years of planning has been focused on taking funding away from bicycling and walking and giving roadways entirely to the automobile," he says.

But now, says Burden, communities are starting to rethink their automobile addictions. European and U.S. cities have set low speed limits in downtowns to make them more amenable to pedestrians. Planners are embracing the notion of "complete streets," where, thanks to features like wide shoulders, special lanes and traffic-calming measures, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders all get equal priority. And in their own small way, pedicabs are playing a role in the transformation.

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"The taxi organizations have spent a small fortune in trying to remove pedicabs," says Chris Smallwood, chairman of the London Pedicab Operators Association and founder of Bugbugs Ltd., a local pedicab company, via e-mail. "Authorities tend to shy away from unknowns and, as such, the pedicab issue goes into the 'too difficult' pile."

There's been similar upheaval in New York City, where pedicab drivers are duking it out with hansom cab drivers over rides around Central Park. The city tourist office has said the pedicabs make the Big Apple look like old-time Hong Kong. And in what the Village Voice dubbed "The Great Pedicab War," the city council voted to prohibit electric-assist pedicabs; to ban all pedicabs from bike lanes, bridges and, if they choose, the entirety of Midtown during high-traffic periods; and to restrict the total number of vehicles to 325 because they believed there were too many pedicabs in too many locations around the city. That decision threatened the jobs of at least 175 drivers and launched pedi-protests through the streets last September; a lawsuit by pedicab companies has so far kept the new rules from going into effect.

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But in other cities, pedicab drivers have complained that officials aren't cracking down hard enough. The freewheeling aura of the pedicabs, which appeals to many of its drivers and makes the rides so colorful, can also lead to chaos in cities where rules aren't regularly enforced.

"It's a clusterfuck right now," says Dan Smith, who sold his sixty-pedicab business in San Diego last summer after 400 or so pedicabs — many of them unlicensed, he says — flooded popular urban destinations like the waterfront, the Gaslamp Quarter and around the ballpark. The city, he says, has done little to stop them. "There was no stopping the number of pedicabs coming in, and there was no way to compete with those who were not legally within the country and did not have insurance," says Smith, who's also run operations in San Francisco and Houston. Earlier this month, city regulators in San Diego promised to address the problem, restricting the number of pedicabs in certain parts of the city, but Smith says the measures are too little, too late.

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There's never been a major accident involving Meyer's cabs in Denver, he points out, and serious incidents in other cities are few and far between. "Cars are the killers," he says. "I could run over someone on a pedicab back and forth for ten minutes and hardly break a bone."

[Great line!!]

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So far, the official response has been less than enthusiastic. "Pedicabs will not be allowed within the perimeter," says agent Ron Perea, head of the Denver Secret Service office and of the Pepsi Center's security border, which has yet to be determined.

Nor will they be used by the Democratic National Convention Committee to transport delegates, media or VIPs to and fro, says DNCC press secretary Natalie Wyeth. Instead, the organization will rely primarily on shuttle buses and a motor pool.

The pedicabs' most willing champion may be the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, the local agency charged with preparing the city for the event.

"They are gonna be huge," says David Kennedy, the committee's disability-rights coordinator.

But nothing is set in stone, cautions Parry Burnap, the committee's "director of greening," considering that the security parameters around the Pepsi Center are still undetermined, and insurance issues involving the pedicabs and the committee's other pedal-powered transportation system, its bike program (see story, page 22), have proved tricky. "At one end, we have to deal with security, and at the other, we have to deal with liability," says Burnap. "That's just the nature of change in America."

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And if his pedicabs don't get big billing at the DNC, there's always the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and the London Olympics in 2012. Lately, Meyer has turned his attention to non-American cities, many of which are less dependent on cars: "I think the prospects for survival are greater outside the U.S.," he explains.

Once production outgrows his Broomfield digs, he may even consider moving much of the manufacturing overseas to places like China, introducing the next generation of three-wheeled transportation to one of the rickshaw's native lands.

[China? Something you're not telling us, Steve?]

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Read the article in it's entirety...

Video: Rickshaws add to evolving downtown Raleigh

I've been meaning to post this for awhile. Unfortunately, Blogger Beta doesn't seem to want to allow me to post anything with javascript, so you'll just have to visit the WRAL web site or the Raleigh Rickshaw web site to see this fabulous video.

This news piece was produced and aired during Greg's trip to Raleigh for our 4-day Operator's Training at the end of March. It was totally unscripted, but everyone, including the passengers, managed to say all the right things. (When did Donald become a ventriloquist?)

It's an awesome free commercial! Doesn't get much better than this.

Nice guns, Brian!

Changes coming to San Diego

New rules may bring pedicabbies to heel

By Helen Gao
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 4, 2008

SAN DIEGO – Pedicabs have proliferated so much in downtown San Diego over the past decade, the city is planning tougher regulations to rein in the muscle-powered three-wheelers.

Overview
Background: More than 400 pedicabs operate in San Diego, mostly in the Gaslamp Quarter, at the waterfront and near Petco Park.

What's changing:
The city, working with pedicab owners and police, is trying to develop better regulations. A proposed ordinance calls for limiting the number of pedicabs in certain areas and requiring them to prominently post fares and other vital information.

The future: The ordinance is being presented to community groups for input. It's expected to reach the City Council in the fall.

Working with police and downtown businesses, city regulators are proposing to restrict the number of pedicabs in certain zones and require all to prominently post fares.

Zones would be carved out in downtown, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and La Jolla. Only a certain number of pedicabs with special decals would be allowed in those zones, but how many has not been determined.

Pedicabbies with a city permit currently can roam pretty much anywhere in San Diego to pick up passengers. They are concentrated along the waterfront, Gaslamp Quarter and around Petco Park. If a limit on pedicabs is set, those without restricted-zone decals would have to find fares elsewhere.

The proposed ordinance also includes safety and consumer protection measures. For example, pedicabs would have to be marked with numbers assigned by the city and the company's name and phone number – requirements meant to give consumers information for calling in complaints.

The ordinance would reiterate that the California Vehicle Code applies to pedicabs; some drivers have been accused of being reckless. Pedicabbies would have to carry proof of insurance, and their vehicles could be impounded if the operators lack a valid California driver's license.

Pedicabs also would be prohibited from being parked in metered spaces. Downtown businesses have complained that pedicabs take up spaces meant for patrons. Zones where pedicabs can pick up and drop off passengers would be created instead.

Brad Jacobsen, a city associate traffic engineer, said pedicabs have reached a saturation point.

“There are some problems with sheer numbers. You do reach a threshold where it ceases to be a street ambience, where it starts to become a little bit of a nuisance,” Jacobsen said.

“We want to strike that balance. We think by putting a little bit more restriction on this and by bringing the numbers down a little bit, it will really benefit the businesses.”

Police estimate there are more than 400 pedicabs in the city. Some already post their fares. Drivers typically lease their vehicles from companies. How much they make depends on their ability to lure passengers.

At peak times, such as the summer or during major conventions, the ranks of pedicab drivers swell. Many come in from out of town and some arrive from out of the country.

“It gets really bad when everybody comes in from Russia, Poland, Turkey and Brazil,” said Holmes Walton, a local who has been driving a pedicab on and off for three years. “The market just gets flooded.”

Joao Ferreira of Brazil, who has been driving a pedicab for about three months, agrees that there are sometimes too many pedicabs, creating an environment that is “bad for business, bad for sidewalks and bad for traffic.”

Jacobsen said the city hasn't decided on a method to distribute the decals.

“We are trying to do this in an equitable manner so nobody corners the market,” he said.

The proposed ordinance is being floated around different communities for input and is expected to go before the City Council in the fall.

Jimmy Parker, executive director of the Gaslamp Quarter Association, which represents more than 400 businesses, welcomes better regulation.

Parker has heard anecdotal complaints about unfair charges for rides, so he is pleased with the proposed requirement to post fares. Most of the complaints he has heard are about pedicabs being on sidewalks, driving recklessly and taking up parking spots.

While the proposed regulations have drawn favorable reactions downtown, the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board has expressed skepticism.

Board member Joe LaCava is concerned that pedicabs would disperse from downtown to places like La Jolla, where they may not be wanted.

“If you've got a problem downtown, fix the problem downtown,” LaCava said. “Don't do anything that might push the problem elsewhere.”

Jacobsen said the reason why zones are being considered outside of downtown is to address the potential problem of pedicabs migrating outward.

Downtown motor Officer Scott Thompson believes once the stricter rules are in place, fly-by-night operations – and some of the problems – would disappear. Thompson stressed that pedicabs provide a valuable service for tourists and he wants to see them stay.

“We are just trying to make the industry more viable rather than tear the industry down,” he said.

[Thanks to my big brother for the heads up on this news.]

India Rickshaw Modernization

Unlike many transport initiatives that aim only at improving the environment, ITDP's Indian Cycle Rickshaw Modernization project also cleaned the air and increased employment and income among the poor.

In collaboration with local experts, ITDP developed a series of design innovations that made India’s traditional cycle rickshaw lighter, more comfortable, and easier to handle. ITDP’s modern rickshaw design reduced the weight of the vehicles by more than 30% and a multi-gear system made pedaling much easier.

Surveys among rickshaw operators showed that incomes increased by 20% to 50% because operators were able to work longer, attract new passengers, and because customer satisfaction rose in response to the improved comfort and safety. The project also demonstrated that the modernized cycle rickshaw could attract 19% of its riders from highly polluting, motorized rickshaws, making its impact on greenhouse gas emission reductions quantifiable.

Today, over 300,000 modernized cycle rickshaws are operating in nine of India’s major cities, including Delhi, Agra, Bharatpur, Brindavan, Mathura, Jaipur and Chandigarh. Watch the short video below highlighting the project’s impact:

Based on ITDP’s success in India, we’ve also worked with our partners in Yogyakarta to similarly revitalize the becak as a mode of transportation through improvements to its weight, maneuverability, and passenger and operator comfort. (The becak is a non-motorized, three-wheeled rickshaw, distinct from the Indian rickshaw because passengers sit in front of the driver.) The Yogyakarta Tourism Department directly ordered 50 of the modernized becaks to serve as special tourist vehicles.

During 2005, the modernized becak model was further refined and updated to address the suggestions of the drivers and passengers who used the 2004 model, the Bisma. ITDP provided modernized becaks to transport participants at the Better Air Quality conference held by the Clean Air Initiative for Asia in Yogyakarta in December, 2006. Efforts are currently focused on marketing the current model to reach a wider audience.

Slick pedicab for the humble rickshaw

A slick, pedicab avatar for the humble rickshaw

Annu Anand

New Delhi, July 8, 2002

For 35-year-old Lalu Singh — a migrant from Bihar— pulling a cycle rickshaw these days is not a drudgery. On the other hand, he is very happy riding his rickshaw in the small lanes and residential colonies of East Delhi. The reason for this change is the new-style rickshaw that he has acquired. He feels it is very light compared to his old rickshaw and he does not have to apply much force to pull it. Passengers do not hesitate to sit in it because it always protects them from heat and rain, unlike the old-design rickshaw.

Lalu says the new rickshaw has changed his life. From somebody who used to hire a rickshaw daily, he has become the proud owner of a new rickshaw. He has recently bought it for Rs 4,000 and is paying the money in instalments. When the going is good he is able to earn as much as Rs 3,000.

Lalu is not alone in this silent change taking place in parts of Delhi and a few other Indian cities. The number of these new-age rickshaw pullers is increasing everyday as the technology of the new-design rickshaw is spreading fast.

Rupesh Kumar is another youngster pulling a rickshaw in the East Delhi residential area of Mayur Vihar. He has been driving this new mode of transportation for close to six months now. In fact, it is difficult to find an old-design rickshaw these days in this locality. Rupesh did not have money to buy a rickshaw so he takes one on hire everyday.

He has to pay Rs 25 to the owner of the rickshaw as hiring charges. He earns daily around Rs 100. The business has been brisk in the past few weeks, in view of the CNG crisis on Delhi roads.

While cycle rickshaws are not a novelty on Delhi roads, but what attracted people’s attention was this new-design cycle rickshaw – more comfortable and stylish. A number of these new rickshaws have been plying on the streets of Delhi for almost two years now. And their number is growing.

It is not just the new design. Almost, a silent revolution is taking place. For the ubiquitous rickshaw and the fate of the rickshaw puller has not changed in the past half a century. Now, thanks to a project conceived by the New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the Asian Institute of Transport Development, the rickshaw has got a new lease of life. The project was initially funded by the US Agency for International Development. The implementation is being done by a Delhi-based NGO called Trichakra.

The traditional rickshaw is an inefficient piece of machinery. It puts a lot of stress on the rickshaw puller and saps away his energy in vain. The geometry of the structure is not suited to the Indian build. Keeping these shortcomings in mind, the design team led by Mr G. Shyam, an industrial designer at the Indian Institute of Technology,

New Delhi, made an attempt to improve the cycle rickshaw, with the objective to reduce the strain on the rickshaw puller through a multiple gearing system. The carriage has also been made lightweight.

But its light body is also posing problems for some rickshaw pullers. Moti Lal - a rickshaw puller in Patparganj - feels that the old rickshaw was better as it could carry more weight and odd-shaped objects. “Moreover, we cannot carry coolers, fridge or any other heavy things.

This design is comfortable only for passengers. Actually, we are in a loss”, he says.

With basic improvements in design, the project came up with several designs - Rani ki Palki, Udan Khatola, Raja ki Baggi, Vigyan ka Samadhan and 2001. Based on field experience and further research, two basic models have been commercialised - the Agra model and the Delhi model.

The former was first introduced in Agra where it has been a great success with tourists visiting the Taj Mahal. Today, about 800 of them are running in Agra, while another 400 are on the roads in the holy towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. Some 30 of the new rickshaws have been introduced in Bharatpur, where rickshaws are the only mode of transportation to take a tour of the famous bird sanctuary. In Delhi alone about 2,000 of these new rickshaws have been introduced. The process initially was slow because manufacturers have to be convinced first and then rickshaw pullers have to be educated. “Some of them did not want the gear system as they are not comfortable with it. So, we have supplied rickshaws without gears as well. We are also working with government agencies to help the rickshaw pullers to become owners of their vehicles”, says Mr Nalin Sinha, Project Manager of the cycle rickshaw project at Trichakra. The cost of the new rickshaw has come down to Rs 4,000, from the initial Rs 5,000. It will go down further as volumes pick up. Even at the present level,it compares well with the traditional rickshaw, which ranges between Rs 3,300 and Rs 3,800.

Mr Sinha says the new rickshaws are being introduced in Jaipur, Varanasi, Patna, Lucknow and Ranchi. More and more local manufacturers are showing interest. To avoid problems in transportation, a ready-to-assemble model is also being developed which can be easily transported. A school “bus” is also on the anvil. It will be capable of carrying at least 10 children comfortably.

The ITDP says the project has demonstrated that the superior vehicle could attract 19 per cent of its clients from highly polluting two-stroke engine vehicles.

Surveys with the new operators have demonstrated that the income of the cycle rickshaw pullers has increased by 20 per cent to 50 per cent because they are able to attract new passengers.

Unlike many transport sector interventions aimed only at improving the environment, this project did not pollute and also increased employment and income among the poor, while keeping the cost of the vehicle roughly constant. Close cooperation with the Indian bicycle industry, the tourism industry, and marketing and public relations experts were critical to the project’s success.

While the Indian project has now moved to commercialisation stage with the help of the private sector, designer G. Shyam is helping improve the rickshaw in Indonesia. The project at Jogjakarta, Indonesia, will try to replicate its success in partnership with Gadjah Mada University. The Indonesian designs, in order to respect cultural norms, will have to continue to seat passengers in the front. In many parts of Indonesia the cycle rickshaw, or becak, is tightly restricted by local government decrees and police harassment. In Jogjakarta the cultural traditions and tourism trade have led to a much more supportive environment for becak modernisation.

No cows or rickshaws; more autos in India

From India New England Online

India’s cities banning cows, rickshaws, but pushing autos

NEW HAVEN, Conn. 2/8/2008 — The streets of Delhi are becoming the stage for a battle over what a modern Indian city should look like.

It’s not an actual battle, of course — its weapons are court rulings, and its contestants are poor rickshaw-pulling city-dwellers and a growing middle class who drive private cars — but it is nonetheless changing the face of Delhi and other large cities across India, said professor Amita Baviskar in a talk she gave at Yale University on January 22.

Entitled “Cows, Cars and Cycle-rickshaws: Bourgeois Environmentalism and the Battle for Delhi’s Streets,” the talk focused on the rise of environmentalism among middle-class city dwellers and its consequences for urban life. It was co-sponsored by Yale’s Program in Agrarian Studies and South Asian Studies Council.

Baviskar, a professor of sociology who teaches at the Institute of Economic Growth at Delhi University, used controversy over three forms of street traffic — cattle, rickshaws and private cars — as a lens through which to analyze the political pull-and-tug surrounding the rise of city-dwellers’ environmental consciousness.

Roughly 40,000 cows roam the streets of Delhi, unhindered because of their status in Hinduism as sacred animals. However, the government of Delhi has tried recently to round up street cattle and relocate them to dairies outside of the city — though such attempts have proved mostly unsuccessful. The campaign stems from concerns that street cattle cause traffic congestion and are a threat to hygiene and personal safety.

Rickshaws, also a fixture of Delhi’s streets, have come under attack for similar reasons. Rickshaw-pulling is said to be a traffic hazard and is also seen by educated Delhi residents as inhumane, said Baviskar. For these reasons, Indian courts have taken steps to ban rickshaws unless licensed. Nonetheless, over 600,000 rickshaws still ply the streets, most of them illegally.

Baviskar sees the judicial orders against these forms of street traffic as the result of a burgeoning educated middle class and the new ideas about the environment that they bring with them. This new urban elite, consisting mainly of professionals, civil servants and academics, see street cattle and rickshaws as “an embarrassment to a world-class city in the making,” said the professor.

But campaigns against cows and rickshaws have wide-reaching consequences for those who rely on them for a living.

The street cows are the means of livelihood for small-time dairy-owners who operate roughly 3,500 informal dairies in the city, said Baviskar. Likewise, up to five million city residents rely on rickshaws for their trade. Rickshaw-pulling is particularly important as a ready form of employment for migrants from the countryside, she noted.

Thus, restrictions on street cattle and rickshaw-pulling “deprive a substantial portion of the working class of their means of livelihood,” said Baviskar. “Concerns about health and hazard, beauty and aesthetics, take precedence over concerns about life and livelihood [of the poor].”

At the same time, private cars, the symbol of modern city life, are becoming more popular. The number of private cars in Delhi nearly doubled between 1997 and 2005, jumping from 1.5 million to 2.7 million, Baviskar said.

Yet, despite their contribution to pollution and road hazards, the government has taken “no initiatives to keep cars off the roads,” she said, adding the cars are instead encouraged.

Baviskar predicts that if these trends continue, Delhi will become a city with greatly-increased spatial segregation. “Hawkers and vendors are being increasingly banished to the outskirts of the city,” and street-cattle owners and rickshaw pullers may soon follow.

Pedicab transport service built on $60 000 investment

"PEDICAB INTERNATIONAL INC., a new business targeting cruise tourists arriving at the Bridgetown Port, is gearing up to give customers a ride to remember.

The company plans to use its four three-wheel pedal cycles, which were tested on the roads last year, to transport passengers into the central business district.

An offshoot of Container Services Ltd located in Fontabelle, St Michael, Pedicab is on course to start operating by month-end, 22-year-old manager Dustin Marshall told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY last week."

Read the rest of the story at The Nation 02/17/08: Pedicab transport service built on $60 000 investment

PDX Pedicab power pushes people around Pearl

Tuesday, July 31, 2007
By JOE SMITH, Special to kgw.com

View the video of this story.

Portland is a city of transportation alternatives.

Always trying eco-friendly ways to get people from here to there. Add a new one. The Pedicab, it's gearing up to create a chain reaction through the streets of the Pearl District and beyond using pure pedal power.

"I thought a rickshaw would be cool", said Jonathan Magnus.

He got the idea for PDX Pedicab after spending a night downtown with his wife. He knew there had to be a fun way to get around downtown.

His idea is serving two purposes. Take people for a ride and help the environment at the same time.

"It's a form of transportation with no carbon footprint" said Magnus from outside his small garage in Northwest Portland. The cabs are three-wheeled bikes with a passenger seat bench.

The bikes are turn signals and brake lights. The bikes are made in Colorado and cost $5,000 each. They come equipped with a canopy for those rainy Portland days.

Just nine weeks ago, he started his company with two cabs. It wasn't long before he added four more. Magnus plans to have a total of 20 by years end.

"I've seen them around, like New York and stuff", said Amanda Crane. She and her brother are in Portland visiting from Sandy, Oregon. She was happy to get her first ride in a Pedicab.

"Just get on this thing and float down the street", she said.

Some companies in the Pearl are happy to have the Pedicabs. Hoyt Realty Group will use the cabs to take prospective condo buyers on upclose personal tours during this month's First Thursday.

PDX Pedicabs travel around Pearl District to downtown, to Portland State University. Owner Magnus says they will be happy to hike the West Hills, but for a price.

The Pedicabs are leased to the drivers. They set the fees. Most of the 20 drivers count on the goodness of strangers to give them a fair price for their hard work.

"People have been very generous,and they appreciate what I'm doing for them. So it's working out", said Anthony King. He's been on the job for just about nine days and loves it. He says he's making money and is enjoying being outside. And for some of the customers they're getting an interesting view from the passengers seat.

"I had some lady say I had nice drum sticks. I didn't know what that meant. She said 'legs.' I imagine so, " said King with a laugh.

Winter Cycling Has Its Own Rewards

Winter Cycling Has Its Own Rewards
By TERRENCE PETTY
Associated Press Writer
Posted: Feb. 12, 2008 at WRAL.com

PORTLAND, Ore. — Studded tires for bikes? Sure. You can also get chains if you want to join the intrepid cyclists who commute to work on two-wheelers during the winter, or who just want to have fun in the snow.

"I've been riding a bicycle for my main transportation for over 30 years. It's a force of habit," says John Schwenker, a 51-year-old aerospace engineer who lives near Boulder, Colorado

He rides four miles to his office and four miles back, even in the snow.

"It's a matter of going slow in the stuff," he says.

Bikes aren't just for sunny summer weather. There are those across the country - whether for environmental reasons, fun or fitness - who so love cycling that they ride year-round, pretty much regardless of the weather.

It may sound masochistic, letting sleet, rain and snow lacerate your face while you try to stay upright on a bike. But there's something weirdly liberating about hurling yourself into the elements - as long as you're smart about it.

WHAT TO WEAR:

Beware hypothermia. Wear layers, and clothing that breathes. It may be cold outside, but as you pedal through snow and cold rain you are going to heat up and sweat. Invest in a good foul-weather cycling jacket. Some riders wear heavy-duty cycling tights. Some wear snow pants. For the base layer - the clothing closest to your skin - stay away from cotton because it will feel wet and cold. Synthetics are better, and cyclists are rediscovering wool. Check with local cyclists to see what works in your conditions.

For footwear, some swear by the same style of "clipless" racing shoes they use during the fair-weather months - the kind of shoes that lock into the bike's pedals. If you go that route, get some neoprene booties to wear over the shoes and help keep out moisture and cold.

In colder climates, consider wearing regular winter boots for warmth. Use them with platform pedals, rather than clipless ones.

For gloves, look for something that will keep out the moisture and cold but also let your skin breathe. One option is the "lobster glove," so called because it looks like a big claw. You could also use weatherproof "bullwinkles," or "pogies," which resemble oven mitts and go over the handlebars. You slip your hands into them.

Besides a helmet, you'll need something over your head to keep in body heat. A balaclava would be a good choice.

RIDE SAFELY:

Make sure you are visible to motorists. Get a headlight that can be seen from a distance, and a blinking taillight that's also bright. In fact, consider getting more than one taillight. Put one on the back of your helmet and attach others to various places on your bike. Light yourself up like a Christmas tree.

Slow down. In snow, sleet or rain, it will take longer to come to a stop than on a dry road. If it doesn't feel safe, stay off the bike.

When you come to an intersection, make eye contact with motorists getting ready to pull into the street to be sure they see you.

Adapt your speed and riding style to the conditions. Powdery snow can be easy to ride through, but it depends how much there is. If there's ice beneath it, the going can be really tricky. Snow packed down by a snowplow can be fun to ride on, but again, be on the alert for ice. Riding through accumulations of wet snow can be exhausting. Gear down and spin through it.

YOUR BIKE:

Winter is brutal on a bicycle. If you want to ride on a regular basis in bad weather, acquire a "sacrificial bike," something cheap that you won't weep over when it's become mechanically useless.

Riders in the Pacific Northwest have "rain bikes" for winter's long rainy season. Some of the bikes have old steel or aluminum frames, come from a junkyard or were bought for a song. Some are sturdy mountain bikes or bikes built for cyclocross.

A rain bike needs fenders. Without them, rainwater and wet muck splashes all over your back - and into the face of anyone riding behind you.

In regions where winter is more snowy than rainy, foul-weather riders also tend to choose old clunkers, mountain bikes and others that can take a beating.

In Green Bay, Wisconsin, for instance, Mike Gerke rides every day of the year. The 50-year-old operates a pedicab; uses a bike for his office-cleaning business; and also just rides for the fun of it - racking up between 8,000 and 12,000 miles a year.

During the winter, Gerke sometimes uses a "fixed-gear" bike, a stripped-down variety with fewer moving parts to break or get gunked up. When snow is beginning to accumulate, he might ride his mountain bike instead.

"The wider stance of the mountain bike, with wider tires, helps give you stability," Gerke said.

Schwenker, of Boulder, rides a cruiser-style bike with braking mechanisms on the hubs of both wheels, rather than rim brakes, which can clog with snow and are less reliable in wet conditions.

Whether you are riding in snow or rain, choose a durable tire because in the winter there's more junk on the road that can slice a tire. Many riders choose mountain bike tires for snow because of their knobby tread. For added traction, you can buy them with studs. Sometimes Schwenker wraps chains onto his tires.

THE PAYOFF:

In Portland, there's a hard-core group of riders who can't wait for winter. For them, riding out into farm country while clouds nudge against the Cascade foothills and rain pours down can be nearly mystical.

Todd Gee of Chicago also knows the feeling. A 37-year-old computer programmer, Gee takes part in snow rides in the Windy City. The group meets early in the evening, then rides to the lakefront or some other pleasant place.

"One of the nice things about snow rides - it's very quiet," said Gee. "Snow deadens the constant noise of the city."

Funny thing... this article was written for a Portland, Oregon audience, appeared on a web site for a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina, and features 2 people we know -- Mike Gerke (gike) in Green Bay, Wisconsin and John Schwenker in Boulder, Colorado. It's a small world after all!

MIBiz: Ped-i-cure for the rush hour blues?

By Karen Gentry | MiBiz
kgentry@mibiz.com

GRAND RAPIDS – Like many major U.S. cities, Grand Rapids may soon have pedicabs on the streets of its downtown district. City officials drafted proposed rules for the human-powered vehicles and will hold a public hearing on the proposal January 29. Pedicabs are human-powered three-wheeled vehicles with a seat, pedals and handlebars in front for the operator and a hooded cab in back for passengers.

Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority Director Jay Fowler said the city doesn’t yet know what the demand will be for the one or two-seated pedicabs, however three companies have expressed interest in operating in downtown Grand Raids.“It’s something that’s popped up in a lot of other cities. I guess it’s a profitable business. All three recognized that this is an opportunity in Grand Rapids,” Fowler told MiBiz.

One of the interested parties is Barton Chatman, who has undergone intense training in Denver, Colorado with a company specializing in pedicab training, marketing and repair. Chatman has formed Grand Rapids Pedicab Company, a business that is already licensed and registered. Chatman believes the timing is right for pedicabs in Grand Rapids with the new JW Marriott and more people taking part in conventions and attending events at the Van Andel Arena. As Grand Rapids grows with more development, parking has become a challenge, and taxis aren’t easily accessible for quick trips.

“People need an efficient way of navigating their way downtown to take advantage of some of the restaurants. It’s nice to do it in an environmentally friendly and family friendly way,” Chatman told MiBiz.

He noted pedicabs can also be mobile billboards, a very effective form of advertising to keep brands and logos top-of-mind.

Chatman plans to buy 10-15 pedicabs from Denver-based Main Street Pedicabs. The vehicles will be leased to independent drivers. Mark Hendershot also plans to purchase pedicabs from the Denver company. He formed Grand Rapids Green Machines and plans to operate one pedicab himself and lease a second pedicab. Hendershot, a professional cyclist who races mountain bikes, believes pedicabs will benefit the city.

“It’s a fun alternative to motorized traffic and seems like kind of a fun venture. I want to bike around and help people out,” Hendershot told MiBiz.

He welcomes competition.

“The more the merrier as long as there’s a corner for each one of the cabs,” Hendershot said.

Fowler said other cities line up 10 pedicabs and shuttle people back and forth.

Proposed rules and regulations

A written document lists the basic requirements of being in the business of operating pedicabs in the downtown area. City representatives from the city clerk’s office, traffic safety and engineers met and concluded that pedicabs are an appropriate use of public right-of-way and recommended that an ordinance be adopted that established rules for pedicab operators.

“An important rule is the fare must be agreed upon at the beginning of the trip,” Fowler said.

This eliminates confusion about price, although some operators may rely a lot on tips.

The proposed rules call for operators to be over the age of 18 with a valid Michigan driver’s license. Pedicabs must be maintained and in safe condition. All pedicab drivers are subject to all applicable traffic safety laws and city and state rules and regulations. Other rules cover situations where pedicabs can park on public property, a rule against operating under the influence while operating a pedicab, and parking that doesn’t impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Regulations call for each pedicab to be properly equipped, in safe operating condition with turn signals, head and taillights, proper brakes and a bell or horn.

Liability insurance will also be required. All pedicab owners must file a business information card with the Office of Special Events prior to operation and drivers must wear an identification badge.

COPYRIGHT 2007. MIBIZ.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This article appeared in the Monday, January 07, 2008 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who are employed in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz, visit www.mibiz.com. (A link to MiBiz's Web site is required).

Pedal Pusher: Amesbury teen runs Newburyport Pedicab for charity

I meant to post this a long time ago. Blake Harris and Kevin Murphy consulted with us at length by phone and email before they got their operation up and running in Newburyport, MA. We were happy to see this great article online.

Pedal Pusher: Amesbury teen runs Newburyport Pedicab for charity - Amesbury, MA - Amesbury News

Harris is at the desk, fielding calls and talking via radio to the company’s drivers out in the field — he is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the fledgling business. Blake Harris is a 17-year-old prep school student. Read more...

Just goes to show you that age and maturity have little, if anything, to do with one another.

Brickshaw Buggy Promo Video

Rocky Chavez from Brickshaw Buggy in Oklahoma City was one of our first students. We had a chance to catch up with him again when he visited Denver a few weeks ago. They've got this great little promo video at OklaTravelNet.com. Snaps for Rocky!

Another Successful Student Adds Tours

Check out the blog post (at Bike Portland) about one of our students operating in Portland, OR.

Pedicab company now offers city tours

Pedicab entrepreneur Jonathan Magnus has expanded his offerings. In addition to regular service downtown, his company, PDX Pedicab, now offers special tours.

Here’s the menu:

Portland City Tour (1 hour $55)
Tour Portland as Portland should be seen, from the seat of a pedal powered pedicab.

Portland Pub Pedal (Includes drink specials $195)
Visit some of the countrys best brewerys and hippest bars, on a Portland Pub Pedal 2 1/2 hour Tour to three of Portland’s finest.

Gallery Tour (2 hours $95)
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home, view Portland’s best galleries on a two hour tour.

Sounds like the perfect plan for Valentine’s Day….

Be sure to read the post about their start-up operation from June 2007: New pedicab business hopes to offer taxi alternative.

Way to go Jonathan!

Lucy Liu tells David Letterman she likes pedicabs

Lucy Liu was a guest on David Letterman earlier in January. Here's an interesting piece of the recap of her visit in the Wahoo Gazette, complete with comentary by the author.

What does Lucy like to do in the city on the beautiful day like we had today? She likes to exercise and ride her bike, and she’s started taking rides in those pedicabs so common now in the city. The pedicab is like a rickshaw where the passenger sits in a little carriage while he/she is bicycled around by a pedaller in front. Dave is familiar with the pedicabs and calls them a “litigation nightmare.” Yippee! I can’t agree more. I have no idea what insurance the pedicab drivers have and they have no respect for any traffic laws. They ride in and out of traffic, never stopping at lights, never signaling, never looking. I can’t believe the city lets them get away with that, and I can’t believe one of those pedicabs haven’t been flattened by an equally traffic law-breaking cab driver. And shouldn’t kids be required to wear a helmet when riding in the back of one of those?

Funny thing... pedicabs have appeared more than once on the Letterman Show.

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.

New York City plans pedicab regulations

City prepares to regulate pedicabs

City officials, who are facing a Sept. 20 deadline to begin regulating the pedicab industry, announced today that they intend to distribute 325 licenses evenly among the companies that already operate the human-powered vehicles.

The number of pedicabs — a form of transportation that has become increasingly popular in Midtown, to the chagrin of taxi owners and bus drivers — has skyrocketed in recent years as tourists increasingly use them to get around Midtown. Under a law passed by the City Council over a veto by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the number of pedicabs will be capped at 325.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, which was given the responsibility to regulate the industry, proposed dividing the 325 licenses evenly among the existing pedicab companies — estimated to number perhaps a dozen or more — “as though we were handing out a deck of cards,” said Jonathan B. Mintz, the consumer affairs commissioner.

The new legislation had directed the agency to give preference to existing cab operators above companies seeking to enter the market.

The new pedicab licenses, or plates, will not be like taxicab medallions, which can be sold, traded and mortgaged and have recently gone for more than $420,000. The pedicab licenses cannot be sold; they may, however, be transferred from older to newer vehicles.

No individual cab company can request more than 30 licenses. If, after the licenses are distributed to the companies that request them, licenses are left over, they will be given out to companies or individuals that place themselves on a waiting list. (It is highly unlikely that there will be any licenses left over.)

“Our proposal strikes the fairest approach by dividing all 325 evenly among those already in the industry,” Mr. Mintz told reporters in a conference call this afternoon.

The department hopes to have the rules in place by mid-August, in advance of the Sept. 20 date on which the law will take effect. The department is holding a public hearing on the new rules on Aug. 3 in the second-floor auditorium at 125 Worth Street.

The new law requires that pedicabs undergo an annual safety inspection and carry safety features like reflective plates, brakes and seat belts. It also requires cab owners to obtain insurance.

The City Council approved the pedicab bill on Feb. 28 over objections from some cab owners. The mayor seemed poised to sign the bill on March 14, but at the last minute, decided not to do so, swayed by arguments that the tiny industry should remain relatively unregulated. On March 30, the mayor vetoed the bill, but on April 23, the Council voted to override him.

There are pedicab companies in NYC with more than 30 pedicabs in the fleet who are being forced to downsize, while smaller companies are boosting their fleet to meet the 30-cab max. Is that an unfair advantage? Are the smaller companies riding on the years of hard work of the larger companies?

The City Council says this is the fairest approach, but is it really? Alternatives might be to force everyone to downsize equally based on a percentage of their fleet or number of years in operation. Seems like the larger operations are being penalized to the benefit of the smaller ones.

And if you were even thinking about opening a new pedicab business in NYC, you can forget it. I'm certain there was a more elegant solution to the issue than this.

Pedicabs in the Denver Business Journal

Pedicab business is on an up cycle
Denver Business Journal June 29, 2007

The content of this article has been removed at the request of American City Business Journals, Inc. and bizjournals.com. To read it, you can follow the link above.

Green transit in Durham, NC

Pedicabs seek market niche
Is Durham ready for a 'green' taxi service that runs on leg power? Greenway Transit hopes so

The evening was to be a launch, of sorts. The Durham Bulls were opening an eight-game home stand June 14. What better way to promote the wind-in-your-face fun of a pedicab ride than offering free pregame rides from the parking lot to the ballpark?

"A limited audience, I guess, " Dana Di Maio said as he sat on his dark blue pedicab after the game started. "I took three rides total ... no, four."

Di Maio is the part-time pedicab coordinator for Greenway Transit, part of a Durham nonprofit pushing a variety of "green" initiatives ranging from its fleet of biodiesel buses and vans to biofuels to Third World fair trade.

Right now Di Maio is also the only driver for the two pedicabs that over time he hopes will become part of the streetscape linking the American Tobacco Historic District, downtown Durham, Brightleaf Square and Ninth Street. He's looking for drivers and exposure, some of which the pedicabs will get Saturday in the parade that accompanies Durham Rising.

Di Maio's first riders of the evening last week couldn't pass up the free novelty, which came with their confession: "I'm lazy," said both Curtis Walker, 18, and Michael Leathers, 19, before jumping into the pedicab for a brisk three-minute ride from the East Pettigrew Street parking deck around the corner to the ballpark's front entrance on Blackwell Street. Among the other riders were a middle-aged couple and two younger women.

"The people seemed to like it," Di Maio said. "One person said it was like New York."

But the 30 minutes of pregame pedaling had the 23-year-old Guilford College graduate scratching his head about how to position a business that has little precedent in Durham (though a bit more in Raleigh and Chapel Hill).

He needs at least four drivers to commit to pedaling four weeks or more. One compensation model would have the driver rent the pedicab for $30 for a four-hour evening and pocket fees and tips.

The fee scale has the first 10 minutes costing $5 for one rider, $7 for two and $11 for three. Everything over 10 minutes is $1 per minute. An hour costs $55. Shirts, caps and brochures pushing the pedicabs have yet to surface.

Di Maio is contemplating flat fees for university functions and conferences. He says conferences focusing on environmental issues might be fertile ground. Likewise "green" weddings and history tours.

The focus of Di Maio's strategizing is two $4,500 tricycles with padded benches (two- and three-seaters) over the two rear wheels and an awning (no fringe). From his perch in front, the driver grinds through 21 gears and flicks lighted turn signals. The body is fiberglass. The frame is aluminum. The whole ensemble is 80 pounds on balloon tires and is so tight and light it almost hums along the street.

The two pedicabs and insurance were purchased through a $13,000 grant this spring from John Sall, co-founder of SAS Institute.

From Greenway Transit's base at 1404 Angier Ave., Di Maio's boss, Marc Dreyfors, 45, sees pedicabs as not only an ecologically sensible and responsible transportation alternative in congested cities, but just plain fun.

"When you go through East Durham neighborhoods [on a pedicab], it's like being a rock star," he said. "People yell from their porches. It's heartfelt. It doesn't make money, but it's really cool."

Now Greenway Transit is searching for a business model to turn its fledgling "green" pedicab efforts into something that generates the folding green of dollars.

"It's a Catch-22," Di Maio said about building a customer base. "You have to be popular to be popular."

Getting started with a new, unfamiliar business is tough. It's important to be seen with people in your cab -- even if those people are your kids or your neighbors. People like to do what they see other people doing.

Pedicabs put a face on furniture

Allsteel Cycles Around NeoCon Attendees

The environmentally-friendly vehicles shuttled attendees to and from the fair and around downtown Chicago.

Is it a bird, a plane? No it’s, a pedicab, scooting around the idea of energy efficiency at contract furnishings showcase NeoCon’s World Trade Fair in Chicago. The dozen brightly-colored, human-powered vehicles are a repeat performance from furniture manufacturer Allsteel, which first presented the concept last year.

Attendees to the fair flagged down the open-air pedicabs to earn a free ride in and around the Merchandise Mart, to and from the fair from the downtown area. In addition to providing environmentally-friendly transportation, the vehicles reiterated Allsteel’s 2007 NeoCon theme: “Inspiration requires a breath of fresh air.”

“Once again, we tried to see to it that NeoCon attendees had the opportunity to arrive or depart this year’s trade fair in style,” says Brandon Sieben, Allsteel vice president, marketing.

"In addition, we hope that Allsteel’s pedicab ambassadors all helped put a human face and emotion with our brand—one that relayed our progressive, yet innovative, culture.”

“In Allsteel has showrooms in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Washington, DC.