I feel your pain

All you pedicab owner-operators, let me just say, "I feel your pain" when it comes to finding insurance.

We've been on the hunt for insurance for our new pedal cab operation, Colorado Rickshaw Company, and it's been UGLY! The options are limited, for sure, and the costs, restrictions and exclusions are all over the map. In recent weeks I've gotten a real education in a subject I didn't want to know that much about.

From what we hear from operators across North America, insurance is the biggest issue they face. Drivers may be the biggest hassle, but overall, the biggest concern is insurance.

There just aren't a lot of options. The coverage offered by some providers is questionable. Unfortunately, in order to operate, a lot of companies buy whatever is cheapest and still meets the requirements. They may think they're covered, but are they really?

I don't claim to be an expert in insurance, and I'm not going to tell you which insurance policy to buy, or which providers are the best. It really depends on your own particular circumstances, how your business is structured, and your tolerance for risk. What I can tell you is that there are significant differences in policies from one provider to the next.

Here are some questions you may want to ask before you plunk down a large chunk of cash:

• Has the insurance you're considering ever paid a claim? If so, what were the circumstances?
  
• If you report an incident, even if it never becomes a claim, are you charged a reporting or research fee?
  
• What is included and what is excluded?
  
• Is the insurance based on claims made or occurences? Either may be okay, but may require different reporting procedures, and the total deductible may change. (For example, if three passengers in an accident each file a claim, the deductible may apply to each passenger rather than the entire incident, thus tripling your out-of-pocket expense.)
  
• If a driver has an incident but doesn't report it, are you covered?
  
• Is there a deductible? If so, do you have enough in reserve to cover it?
  
• Are the drivers covered, or just the passengers? What about damage to the cabs or other property like cars?
  
• If you have a manager, assistant manager, or mechanic, what is their coverage under the policy?
  
• At what point does this insurance take over? Some policies only cover expenses in excess of those covered by motor vehicle or health insurance.
  
• Are the pedal cabs covered for damage, fire or theft? Does that coverage apply to street use, storage, or both?
  
• Is coverage limited to a specific geographical area like a city, county or region? Or can you take your cabs to an event like an airshow or car race outside of your general footprint? Does coverage extend to transport to or from an event?
  
• Is there an age limit for drivers?
  
• If the policy requires a "clean driving record," what does that mean? If someone gets a traffic ticket after they're approved, what happens?
  
• Are there any benefits for having safety equipment like lights and seat belts?
  
• Are there any benefits for having a training & street monitoring program in place?
  
• Do you have the ability to increase or decrease the number of cabs in your fleet?
  
• Is anything else included in the coverage like legal fees, etc.?
  
• Can you review a copy of the policy before you buy?
  
• If you change to a new insurance provider, are you covered by the original provider for incidents that happened while you were insured by them?

Other things to consider when choosing your insurance coverage are:

• Do you have written reporting procedures in place?
  
• Have you put into place any other systems to limit your liability?
  
• What are the driver's responsibilities in an incident?
  
• How well are your cabs maintained, and do you keep records?
  
• If your drivers aren't covered by your business insurance, do they have any other coverage in place like regular or catastrophic health insurance?

It takes time to evaluate your options. Plan to start looking for new insurance 4 to 6 weeks before you actually need it. Since pedicab businesses are still a nontraditional industry and there aren't any actuarial tables yet, brokers often need time to gather all the information required by the underwriters.

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!

In honor of Earth Day

Pretty much anyone involved with pedicabs agrees that it's a green industry. We tout rickshaws as earth-friendly, zero-emissions, human-powered, pedal-powered, environmental, ecological, low carbon footprint, and all those other buzz words popular in today's global warming lexicon.

In honor of Earth Day, here are a few statistics to reinforce the value of pedal cabs in your community.

60,000,000 - The number of plastic bottles thrown into U.S. landfills each day. It takes 1.5 million barrels of crude oil each year to produce these bottles - translating into enough fuel to run 100,000 cars for a year.

45,000,000 - The number of barrels of oil saved each year by using public transportation.

2,150,000 - The number of barrels of oil saved if 100,000 homes installed eco-friendly geothermal heating systems.

2,000 - The number of coal-fired power plants located in China. (One new power plant goes into operation every 4 to 7 days in China).

13 - The number of pounds a person would lose if they walked one half hour a day instead of riding or driving a motor vehicle. If every US citizen between the ages of 10 to 74 walked this equivalent each day rather than drive, our carbon dioxide emissions would be decreased by 64 million tons.

3,000,000,000 - Gallons of gas wasted each year due to traffic congestion. Since much pollution is caused while traffic is slowed or stalled due to congestion, many people mistakenly think that this pollution can be prevented by decreasing congestion. Unfortunately that doesn't work, as every attempt to facilitate traffic flow simply results in more traffic. More roads seem to lead to more cars on the roads.

117 - Bicycling is 117% more efficient than walking.

54 - Gallons of gas saved annually by using a bicycle to commute four days a week for four miles (each way). [That's approximately $190 US at today's gas prices]

30 - percent of morning traffic caused by parents dropping their kids off at school.

15 - In 2004, fewer than 15% of children and adolescents use active modes of transportation to or from school. In 1969, approximately half of all schoolchildren walked or bicycled to or from school, and 87% of those living within 1 mile of school walked or bicycled. (CDC report)

36 - Walking is 36 times more dangerous than driving, because Americans lack safe places to walk (e.g. trend towards fewer sidewalks and crosswalks). In 59% of cases for which information is available, pedestrians died in places where they could not find a crosswalk.

55 - On average, states spent just 55 cents per person of their federal transportation funds on pedestrian projects in the years studied, less than 1% of their total federal transportation dollars. Average spending on highways came to $72 per person.

100 - The number of bicycles that could be produced using the energy and resources needed to build one medium-sized car.

40 - Percentage of oil used daily in the U.S. by Cars and SUVs.

Resources:
cleanairsys.com
Bicycleuniverse.info
Scorecard.org

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.]

Love to have you with us in Raleigh

To anyone who is considering starting a pedicab business, or who wants to take an existing business to the next level:

I would strongly suggest that you attend this seminar. You are really going to need the fundamental information in the seminar to have a chance at a successful business.

I am in no way profiting at all from this seminar. My benefit is having successful Pedicab company owners representing the industry at a level which will advance us all to the next level, while shedding the misconceptions this business has acquired due to lack of leadership and consistency in owners.

This seminar, the only one of its kind, is for the first time going to be on the east coast and better yet, in Raleigh. I traveled to Denver, where it is normally held, to attend and it was worth the stretch in budget to do so. I credit the knowledge I gained to not just my company's success, but my company's overwhelming success.

The cost of it is peanuts compared to this risk of the overall investment to your company. It's worth spending your money on fewer cabs and getting quality training. Then buy more cabs and build your fleet as your business grows.

Check out the latest Raleigh Rickshaw media coverage in the Raleigh Downtowner. We are blazing a path to the gold Standard of Rickshaw/ Pedicab Companies and would love to have you with us !!!!!!!!!!

Donald Mertrud
Owner
Raleigh Rickshaw

Pedicabbie experience after dark

This is a fantastic article written by a pedicab driver in Columbia, Missouri, and published in Urban Velo. I am only posting an excerpt of the article with a link to the rest, but I just think it gives such great insight into his experience, that I encourage you to read it in its entirety. Definitely go to the original article to read it and check out the great photos. Thanks, Johnny in Columbia, for such a thoughtful article.

Pedicabs After Dark (excerpt)
By Johnny Tarr

While the pedicab itself is humble, a ride on it is amazing in contrast. A three-hour shift makes the whole day perfect. I adjust the seat, check the lights, and then the moment I roll off the lot I’m Superman. This must be how it feels to command a kingdom, or walk on water. Traffic treats me royally. Everybody waves back. The cab itself is an eye-magnet that makes its riders instant celebrities.

I feel people on the sidewalks getting excited as the cab rolls down the street, so I invite them on. Some folks hop right on, exclaiming how I’ve come at just the right moment, but some potential riders need convincing. They might give nonsense excuses about how they’re only going two blocks, and surely that’s too near or too far. Or the mothers, bless their hearts, say that they would feel terrible about making me work. Nothing but a show of machismo beats that fallacy, so I tell them I’m the strongest man in Columbia. They don’t really believe me but that’s fine because I believe myself and that’s the important thing, so they get in anyway.

Read the entire article at UrbanVelo.com...

Discounted pricing extended!

We've extended the discounted price on the Pedicab Operators Weekend through the weekend. Register by the end of the day Monday, March 3, and SAVE!

10News Investigates Dark Side Of Pedicabs

10News Investigates Dark Side Of Pedicabs - 10News Investigations Story - KGTV San Diego

This story sparked quite a discussion on Rickshaw Forum recently. There's a debate in the industry about whether or not it's legal to have J-1 students as drivers. In our opinion, foreign exchange students on temporary J-1 work visas cannot be independent contractors in business for themselves. They must be employees, and most pedicab operations do not have driver employees. Somehow, some pedicab companies manage to work the system and "hire" J-1s. I'm curious as to how, exactly, they do that. Do you know? Do you think it's legal to have J-1 drivers in your crew?