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.

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.]

Things that matter

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Gike's comments on my previous post "Wake up and Repent" got me to thinking. As the big dog in Denver Pedicabdom, how much responsibility do we bare in this situation? And what about the other legit operators in town? Where are they in all of this?

By default, we have been the spokespersons for the pedicabs here in Denver because we are the largest, have been here the longest and are the public face of the industry. When there's a problem, we get the call.

The true professional pedicab operation gets insurance, gets licenses, pays taxes, maintains their bikes, and trains anyone who rides for them. Their drivers don't drink and then drive, don't drive recklessly, don't gouge or overcharge. They are conscientious, courteous, friendly, and safety-conscious.

There is a group of independents who don’t think they have to follow any rules or listen to anyone. This group has ridden the coat tails of the legitimate companies (MHP in particular) for years. We're the ones who meet with the business community and talk about how great pedicabs are for Denver. We're the ones donating tours and time and energy to charities like PBS and Race for the Cure. We're the ones who get the phone calls when there's a complaint or incident. We're the ones promoting pedicabs in Denver and around the country. We're the ones who smoothed things over with the venue when there were problems last year and the year before. These actions benefit ALL the pedicab drivers in Denver, not just those who ride for Mile High.

Whenever we've tried to do anything to stabilize or legitimize the industry here, they push back. "F*** you, man! I'm gonna do what I want. I don't care about anybody but myself. The rest of you can f*** off!" For far too long, they've been tolerated, allowed to operate and continue to put the industry at risk. If MHP is the big dog on the street, then they're the annoying little ankle biters.

Who is responsible for the actions of these drivers? Does a new driver get to makeup new rules and just start riding or disregard the existing one because they simply don’t like them?

Which brings me back to my original point -- how much responsibility do we bare? We could have been more aggressive in getting them out. We could have gone to the city and demanded better enforcement of the regulations. We could have called the police every time we saw an infraction. We could have negotiated exclusive rights for our drivers to operate at the venues rather than trying to set up systems that would allow everyone to operate if they followed the rules. But we didn't want to be perceived as anti-competition. We didn't want to expose the naked nasty underbelly of pedicabs to the public. We thought it could cause more harm than good and things would work out somehow. Maybe we caved.

And how much responsibility do the other legit operators bare? At least as much as we do. Do they fully train their drivers, especially on pedicab etiquette and the unwritten rules? Do they monitor their actions on the street? Some of the other operators may have insurance, etc., but are reckless and rude, flaunting the rules at every opportunity.

Now for the individual drivers out there. What's their responsibility? What have they got to lose? In some ways, more than we do. These punks are their competition. They have to deal with them every time they're out. What do they do to keep everybody in line? Do they call the cops? Do they report incidents to the parking management at the venues or someone else? Or do they just sit around and complain? What's their part in the solution? Peer pressure is a powerful force.

Can't we all just get along? That phrase is about to make me puke! When do they try to get along with us? Don't they realize that they would benefit more by working with us rather than against us? Why are we always the bad guys? Because we would hold people accountable. Because we believe that the rules and regulations apply to everyone. It's hard to be cooperative with people who don't want to cooperate.

I say ENOUGH! I'm sick of playing the games. I'm sick of being nice. I'm sick of just trying to run my own business and ignoring the stupidity of everyone else. I'm sick of trying to make things better for all the pedicab operators. NO MORE! Now you've really pissed me off!

A business associate told me last week, "Don't do this for ego; do it for money!" This is a real business for me. Not just some fly-by-night adventure. These twits are jeopardizing my business, my ability to make money. I've sunk a lot of time and energy into pedicabs. I've been working to help this fledgling industry spread its wings and take flight. I'm in this for the long haul. I'm not willing to sit back and allow a bunch of jackasses to ruin my livelihood.

I'm silent no more!

Wake up and Repent!

In Denver, as in most cities, sporting events provide great opportunities for pedicab drivers to make money. With 7 or so pro teams in our downtown area, plus concerts and other events, these sports venues are important arenas for our drivers and the other pedicab operations in the city.

Now, one of our most popular venues is threatening to ban pedicabs altogether. There have been little incidents each season for the past couple of years. Until now, we've been able to convince the management that pedicabs are a good thing for their patrons and should be allowed to ride on the property. Not any more.

Unfortunately, there are those in our industry who think the world somehow owes them something. The rules don't apply to them because they don't much care what they leave behind -- good or bad. They just do whatever they want and the hell with all the rest. They won't be around to clean up the mess. If pedicabs are banned, they'll just do something else (although I'm not sure what they could do that would be better). As one indy driver told us last year, "I don't care. I'll just deliver groceries in my pedicab."

After incidents of rudeness to patrons, downright nastiness to staff, blatantly ignoring the rules and requests of the venue, reckless and/or drunk driving, etc. the venue management was upset. Finally, after a staffer carrying her 2-year-old was knocked down in the snow by a pedicab last week, management said ENOUGH! As the largest and best-known pedicab company in Denver, we got the call. No more pedicabs on the property.

We know who the trouble-makers are -- the ones who say "F*** YOU!" anytime someone says something to them, and the ones who nod in agreement until your back is turned and they give you the finger. They know who they are. These I-don't-give-a-shit-about-anyone-but-myself punks may have cost all the pedicab drivers in the city a valuable opportunity to make money.

We tried to warn them. After an angry call from the management last year and threats to ban pedicabs then, we told them this could happen if everyone didn't behave and follow the rules. We got the same response we got before... "F*** YOU! I don't have to do what you say! You're not the boss of me!"

Can't we all just get along?

I'm so sick of that! Obviously... NO! we can't!

It would be nice. In a perfect world, a utopia, we'd all get along, appreciate each other and the opportunities we have. We'd all treat one another with respect. It would be nice, if everyone followed the rules, cared about safety and service. It would be nice if everyone had a valid pedal cab license, business license, insurance, lights, brakes -- all those niceties that make a business legit.

Alas, Pedicabdom isn't a perfect world. Along with most of our drivers, we just hoped the hooligans would just go away. We all know who causes the most problems, and exchange complaints about them all the time. But what to do? Break their legs? Flatten their tires? Steal their shoes? Slap their wrists? (Is there anyplace that still uses stocks?) I'm not one to advocate violence, but... DAMN! ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

WAKE UP PEOPLE! Repent! Get it together! This is your wake-up call.

One More Time

This post appeared on the Pedicab Yahoo Group. Very well written observations by Billy O in Phoenix. We have and still are experiencing some of the same issues in Denver, for now on a smaller scale. We hear about similar situations from other operators across the country.

All of us are judged by each of us.

The whole industry was given yet another black eye over the last couple days in Scottsdale during the Super Bowl parties.

Raiders from San Diego showed up.

I know that not all San Diego riders are like the ones who were most visible out there last night. And I know we have riders here in Phoenix who are just like the San Diego people who so completely and thoughtlessly came in to rape and run at this event.

They say "we just charge what the market will bear". Except the effects of their charging 20 and 40 bucks a head plus tip will linger long after they have left here. And the ripples of gouging go outward from here to affect the entire industry, all cross the country.

They say they have the right to charge 80 bucks for a ride because it cost them so much to get here, and they have to eat, and pay for hotel rooms and gas on top of lease. So its okay to gouge the people attending a major event, because, you know, the people are here to spend money anyway.

Its okay because even after being told that nobody gets to run in Glendale because the City has decided to protect itself from predatory pedicab practices, its okay to go to a nearby city and give yet another city a reason to ban human powered ransportation.

Its okay to crowd the doorways of events, to jam as many rigs as possible as close as possible to the security checkpoints because the cops let it happen.

Its okay to cut in front of lines that have been formed by the people who got there first because the well mannered people with an eye to the future will refuse to start fist fights at the event as a way to enforce fair operational practices.

Its okay to do hit and runs in parking lots and in grid locked traffic cuz you'll be gone in a day and theres no way to get caught when the cops are so busy.

Its okay to do whatever you can get away with because tomorrow never comes.

I know that not all San Diego pedicabbers are like this. Not all of them act like they were trained by the old bike man limo company. And I know that we have people here in the Valley who act like that too. The worst of human nature is not confined to any one geographical area.

All of us are judged by each of us. The true soul riders, the professionals, will be invisible when seen next to the raiders who think the whole world is their own private toilet.

The single biggest threat to the human powered transportation industry is some of the all too human people doing it.

with huge regret and great sadness

sincerely,

Billy O

If you're not already a member of the Yahoo Group, sign up and read the comments. Just go to yahoo.com and search for "pedicab" under groups. Very interesting.

A follow up comment:

the Police and the Property Owners find it much easier to just ban all of us rather than try to take the time to find out who is professional and who is predatory.

More on the Tennessee turf war

Pedicabs Nipping At Heels Of City Horse Carriages

City horse carriage operators said they are having problems with a new competitor - the pedicab.

Mark Neal said drivers of the rickshaw-like, three-wheeled vehicles come up suddenly on their horses and startle them. Another carriage operator said he had to ask one of the pedicab drivers twice not to spook his horse. He said the driver came up again and told him, "We're going to run you out and own this town."

Johnny Brown, operator of the new pedicab firm, told the City Council he is playing by the rules and has $500,000 in insurance with Lloyds of London. He said he has six units and there currently are five drivers.

Mr. Brown said the rides are free, but the drivers hope for tips.

He said, "We connect various parts of town." For example, he said he gave a pedicab ride to a couple who had walked across the Walnut Street Bridge and were too tired to walk back.

He said his drivers can shuttle visitors from one venue to another downtown.

City Councilman Jack Benson noted that the vehicles use the sidewalks, not the streets. He said he was almost run over by one recently while he was walking downtown. "They are somewhat dangerous," he said.

One horse carriage operator said he saw a pedicab driver try to take a couple up steep Second Street, but he couldn't make it.

"That was me," said Mr. Brown with a smile.