The South by Southwest music festival bills itself as “the premier destination for discovery.” It’s also the destination for truckloads of cash, as music and art fans flock to Austin, Texas, each March. Last year’s event brought nearly $100 million to the city, according to one analyst.

The more than 200,000 “creative class” types — musicians, media gurus, filmmakers — who come to South by Southwest (often known merely as SXSW) spend money not only at the official event, but also in Austin’s rich underground economy.

The annual festival has become a cash cow for the city, says Ben Loftsgaarden, an economic analyst with Greyhill Advisors who studied the economic impact of last year’s event.

“About $99 million, almost $100 million, was basically injected back into the Austin economy over that nine-day festival period,” he said.

Lofstgaarden says this year’s visitors might spend a bit less, because of the tough economy. But the money is not just going toward tickets. There’s a kind of underground economy that has grown up around the festival: food vendors, merchandisers, knickknack sellers, cab drivers.

Well, maybe not exactly cab drivers. For the SXSW crowd, pedicabs, or bike taxis, are all the rage.

“The attenders for SXSW are much more likely to take a pedicab versus a cab,” said Amy Waller, a pedicab driver who moved to Austin from Baltimore. “It’s just cooler. It’s trendier — that’s why we’re making money.”

Waller says she hopes to make some pretty good money shuttling conference attendees to and fro. “Maybe like a month’s pay at my day job, my 9-to-5,” she said.

If that happens, Waller already knows how she’ll spend the loot.

“Everyone kind of plans what they’re going to do with their money,” she said. “My plan is to try to buy a motorcycle, so I can get rid of my car. That’s what I’m banking on, that’s my goal.”

During the festival, there’s no shortage of food. Marc Stimak owns Texas Picnic Company Barbecue and Char Pit, a mobile food trailer.

“We do chopped beef, Carolina pulled pork and Alabama chicken,” Stimak said. “Comes with a white barbecue sauce, 12 ingredients. It’s killer good.”

And in a nod to Tex-Mex tradition, you can get it all in a tortilla. Every year, mobile food vendors take up strategic positions all over downtown Austin. In a good SXSW year, Stimak will make almost four to six times what he would in a normal week.

“It’s kind of like our Christmas, if you will. This is the Christmas season,” he said.

Even so, Stimak says people are spending a bit less. Patrons who used to buy his two-for-one taco special just for themselves are now splitting it with friends.

But because almost all of the vendors are local, most of the money spent on things like food and transportation goes back into Austin’s economy.
Mike Shea, SXSW executive director, says Austin is the perfect partner for the festival, especially compared with other — colder — cities.

“Every time it freezes in New York, we get another hundred registrations in Austin,” he said.

And with every one of those new registrants, Austin prepares a little more food and a few more cabs.

Wildman, who owns Malibu Yogurt at 825 E. University Blvd, uses his Main Street Pedicabs manufactured Billboard Bike to get to and from his store.

“Because it is my bike and because I ride it, I can park it just like any other car,” Wildman said.

Tucson regulates business signage, but the Billboard Bike doesn’t fall under those regulations.

Wildman says it is no different than people who stick advertising on their cars and drive around the city or the billboard trucks that drive around the city.

But, according to Dan Werner, director of sales and marketing at Mainstreet Pedicabs, it has one big advantage; no pollution.

“When you compare it to big trucks spewing out fumes, there is no comparison,” Werner said.

Many people don’t want their businesses associated with a loud and smelly truck and the Billboard Bike offers a carbon free way to advertise that, “really turns heads,” Werner said.

The bike, which sells for about $3,400, includes everything you need to get started except for the batteries to light up the sign at night.
According to Werner, the company hasn’t sold more than a few dozen of the Billboard bikes, but like the pedicab, when someone sees one, they want to know more about it.

Pedicabs have been advertising on the back and sides of their bikes from the beginning, but because Billboard Bikes don’t require liability insurance like pedicabs, more people are looking into the them, Werner said.

“Pedal power is a very cool thing,” Werner said. “Not only is it something you can use to build a business and earn money, but it is doing it the right way.”

Wildman said he has gotten a lot of positive feedback from people who have seen him out riding his Billboard Bike.

Popular at such tourist haunts as Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, the bicycle rickshaw has arrived at the Sundial Bridge in Redding.

Bob Frost, a 57-year-old retired U.S. Forest Service worker, opened Sundial Pedicabs last month.

Starting with one cab and operating intermittently when weather permits, Frost will take visitors around the Sundial Bridge, along the Sacramento River Trail and even through the McConnell Arboretum at Turtle Bay Exploration Park.

Frost signed a one-year contract with Turtle Bay. The deal mandates that he carry insurance and pay Turtle Bay 10 percent of his profits each month.

“I am enjoying doing it. I spent my whole adult life out in the woods, so I love the outdoors and enjoy the weather,” said Frost, who worked in timber sales and also did firefighting for the Forest Service.

The rickshaw service charges $20 an hour, $10 for 30 minutes and $5 for 15 minutes. All rates are double occupancy.

Frost can go as far west as the Keswick Dam powerhouse and will be able to go east to the Mt. Shasta Mall once the bike path is completed in conjunction with the Dana Drive-to-downtown Redding retrofit.

Rosalinda Avitia came to the bridge Monday afternoon with her daughter and granddaughter. The Shasta Lake resident bought a 15-minute trip with Frost.

“For a relaxing day, it’s great to let somebody else take you around,” Avitia said. “I think it can be very romantic.”

With sunny skies and temperatures hitting the high 60s, Monday proved a good day for Frost to take his rickshaw out, though he didn’t have many customers.
But he is not discouraged and is confident business will pick up once the weather warms.

“I am kind of looking at people who are mobility challenged; they have a hard time getting around and want to get out and see things. I’m hoping to be attractive to their needs,” Frost said.

Frost envisions taking passengers on moonlight rides on summer nights. He expects to operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. during the summer.

The yellow-and-black rickshaw Frost uses was made by Main Street Pedicabs in Broomfield, Colo. Frost paid about $3,900 for the custom-made cab.

Over the next several years, Frost said he expects to see his fleet of cabs growing to four or five. He also would someday like to provide a shuttle service from Hilltop Drive down to the River Trail.

“The long range would be for me to get off the bike and manage the business,” Frost said.

Turtle Bay spokesman Toby Osborn was off Monday and unavailable for comment.

For more information about Sundial Pedicabs, call 351-1755.

“Hey, Rickshaw Willie,” someone calls out as Tim Wilhelm drives his Pedicab down Main Street in Akron, Ohio. It’s a common occurrence these days, as Wilhelm, aka “Rickshaw Willie,” has become somewhat of a local celebrity.

“Everybody has to have their picture taken with Rickshaw Willie,” Wilhelm says. “People are hugging me all the time, and kids will run out to the edge of the curb to high-five me as I drive down the road. Even some local business owners came up to me while I was eating dinner and told my wife that I had become a downtown Akron icon.”

But it was only about a year ago when the 54-year-old Wilhelm found himself depressed and at a crossroads in his life. A truck driver for 31 years, Wilhelm became the victim of a sagging economy when the trucking company he works for merged with another and then decided to take him out of his truck and onto the loading dock.

“It was about the lowest point I had ever been in my life,” he says. “I didn’t know if I’d pull out of the depression, but I’m not a quitter, so I kept thinking about what I could do.”

Not one to just sit around, Wilhelm went online looking for a new opportunity and came across Main Street Pedicabs, a manufacturer of Pedicabs in Broomfield, Colorado.

“I watched some of their videos and I thought that this was something I could do,” he says. “But people kept telling me that I was crazy and too old to do it.”

One of those skeptics was his wife of 30 years, Lori.

“When Tim first spoke of a rickshaw last winter, I thought it was just a way to pass the time while he was laid off,” she says. “No way would a rickshaw work in Akron.”

But Wilhelm defied the naysayers and purchased the Pedicab anyway. Ten months later, he has had encounters with celebrities, has endeared himself to the community and has become stronger, both mentally and physically.

“As soon as I got the Pedicab and started riding it, I realized that I wasn’t too old, and I was actually getting younger as I was riding it,” he says. “I felt younger in my mind, but my body was definitely getting stronger, too.”

Wilhelm’s first official day out with his new Pedicab was during Akron’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. When some of the parade organizers saw him dressed for the occasion on his decorated Pedicab, they asked Wilhelm if he would drive Akron’s beauty queen through the parade route.

“It was a big hit and everyone enjoyed it, so I knew I was onto something,” he says. “I knew with this Pedicab that I had something special and unique in its own way, so I started volunteering for the Kids Bike Rodeo and other events.”

One of those events was a charity pub crawl to raise money for cancer research in Barberton, Ohio. Wilhelm volunteered to drive people from one bar to the next. He kept people from drinking and driving, but he also learned that he had gained a key ally.

“At about midnight that night, a Barberton policeman pulled up beside me in his cruiser, gave me a thumbs-up and told me I had done a real good job,” he says.

Wilhelm also has volunteered for events with the Copley Police Department, and even let Chief of Police Michael Mier drive him around in the Pedicab.

“Rickshaw Willie has become a regular visitor to our special events,” Chief Mier says.  “His colorful outfits and special bicycle attract a lot of attention.  Children and parents alike enjoy the ride.  Rickshaw Willie has helped make these events special and fun for the children of our community.  We have found that children have so much fun at community events that they can’t wait to return the following year.  Rickshaw Willie has been a big addition and one of the highlights.”

Although Wilhelm admits the police “looked at him a little funny” when he first got started, he says they quickly realized that he and his Pedicab were an asset to the community.

“I think they can see that the Pedicab is a safe and unique way to get around town without tying up traffic,” he says. “About a month ago, one of the Akron policemen pulled me aside and said, ‘Rickshaw Willie, if you ever need any help down here, you let us know and we’ll come from all directions.’ When the police tell you something like that, you know you are doing something right.”

Wilhelm certainly gained support from the local police, but he soon realized that others were taking notice, as well.

While driving his Pedicab around a bike rally in downtown Akron, legendary rocker Chrissie Hynde, of the Pretenders, asked to speak with him. An Akron resident, Hynde noticed Wilhelm from the patio of her vegan restaurant.

“She has been interested in bringing Pedicabs to the area, and has even brought it up to people, but no one has ever followed up on it,” he says. “So, she was surprised and excited to see there was actually one in town, and talked to me about expanding the business in downtown Akron. It was something that caught me off guard, but to meet Chrissie Hynde was real exciting for me.”

“But I also started to realize that I was becoming my own celebrity,” he continued. “When the big celebrities start to notice you, it means you’re catching somebody’s eye.”

And he was right. Wilhelm caught the eye of another celebrity when he took his Pedicab to the LeBron James Bike-a-Thon. That’s where Mo Williams of the Cleveland Cavaliers asked Wilhelm to drive him through the course in his Pedicab.

“It was pretty exciting and I was more than happy to do it,” Wilhelm says. “We pulled over near the crowd at one point and we were swarmed by people who wanted to see Mo Williams. I turned to him and said, ‘Mo do you want me to get you out of here,’ and he said ‘go, go go,’ so it was exciting to bust out of the crowd like I had Elvis Presley in the back.”

In addition to meeting many interesting people, Wilhelm says his Pedicab business has improved both his health and morale.

“I’ve gotten a lot stronger,” he says. “In fact, I just got back from the doctor and they were impressed with my heart rate and blood pressure, especially for someone my age. I ride with the Stark County Bicycle Club out of Canton, and they’ve really noticed how much stronger I’ve gotten. It has made me a stronger person, and I think I can attribute a lot of that to the Pedicab.”

And it’s not only Wilhem’s physical strength that has improved.

“A guy I work with told me that he noticed a big change in me not long after I got my Pedicab,” he says. “He could see the improvement in my attitude and that I was smiling again. He could see that I was a much different, much happier person.”

Wilhelm still works on the loading dock, however, and he’s still not happy about it. But instead of letting it get him down, he now focuses on brighter things.

“Instead of worrying about that job, I think about all the opportunities with my Pedicab business,” he says. “It took my mind off of the negative things and put me on a different direction.”

And Wilhelm likes the new direction his life is headed and takes pride in the courage he had to invest in a new business, and himself.

“Just knowing that I took a business where everyone told me I was too old to do it, and I actually did it makes me feel good,” he says. “It’s getting bigger for me everyday and it’s just as exciting for me today as it was the first day I started driving my Pedicab.”

Tony Benedict, right, pedals four pedestrians home from a night of partying Friday from Albert Avenue.

Wearing a black leather jacket reminiscent of Johnny Ramone, well-manicured facial hair and a big grin, Tony Benedict, owner of Pure Power Pedicab, is East Lansing’s one and only bicycle taxi.

Benedict, an East Lansing resident and former paramedic, has been serving the East Lansing community since November 2008 with his human-powered mode of transportation.

“I go completely on tips, and I do that because I don’t want to set a set rate,” Benedict said. “Some people just want a ride and they really don’t have a lot of money. I figure everyone should have a ride if they just want to go home and they don’t live too far away.”

On average, Benedict said he is tipped $5-$6 for rides that average about a quarter mile, although a particularly generous customer once gave him $100.

Benedict operates his taxi Thursday through Saturday, starting around midnight. On any given night, he’ll give 20-40 rides with two or three people riding in his cab at a time.

Aimee Ryder, an interdisciplinary studies in social science and human resources and society senior, rode in the pedicab for the first time this winter.

“It was something I always wanted to do before I graduated,” she said, “We had left from the bar, Rick’s (American Café). We were going to our house.”

Ryder said the blanket Benedict includes in the cab to keep passengers warm and his willingness to take photos of her and her friends made the ride that much better.

Benedict’s relationship with bicycles began when his truck was destroyed and he began using a bicycle as a primary mode of transportation. This, he said, was when he realized the power of bicycles.

For Benedict, his pedicab is more than a job — it also is a way to demonstrate his desire to reduce dependence on automobiles and congestion.

“I am doing it kind of for the money, but not really,” Benedict said. “It’s just very enjoyable, meeting new people and if they enjoy the ride and if these things can grow, that’s what I’m looking for — like something where I can contribute to East Lansing a little bit.”

Benedict’s pedicab weighs in at 185 pounds. The giant tricycle can hold three passengers, has 21 gears, disc breaks, turning signals and brake lights. Brandished on the back of the pedicab’s chassis is a painting of a tiger, a symbol that Benedict chose, he said, because “it gives it strength.”

Benedict sees the future of pedicabs and that of the East Lansing and MSU communities as intertwined. Aside from being environmentally friendly, to Benedict, bicycle taxis could contribute to the area’s “flavor.”

“I do know MSU and East Lansing are definitely looking for new ways to stimulate the city as well,” Benedict said. “This would just be something to help stimulate a little of it. Give it something new, something different.”

LONDRES.-  Con Boris Johnson los londinenses han cogido el gusto por los pedales. Pero fueron otros los que encontraron mucho antes el potencial a ir sobre ruedas en el ajetreado asfalto de la capital británica. Son muchos los que conocen los ‘rickshaws’, pero muy pocos los que saben verdaderamente los secretos de estos populares triciclos que trabajan como bici taxis. Visitamos ‘Shone Lane’, el gran garaje donde duermen los pedicabs más famosos de toda Europa.

Para entrar hay que marcar una clave en la puerta que sólo conocen los conductores de estos vehículos. “Entran y salen cuando quieren. Ellos se ponen sus propios horarios”, cuenta Vanessa Celosse, que trabaja en Bugbugs, el primer operador que en 1998 sacó a la calle una flota de 18 ciclocarros. En principio, el proyecto estaba destinado para dar “trabajo verde” a los desempleados, pero hoy en día muy pocos viven exclusivamente de dar al pedal. La mayoría de los conductores son jóvenes que vienen a aprender inglés o estudiantes que quieren sacarse el dinero para pagar el alquiler mientras acaban sus clases.

El sistema funciona de modo que estos jóvenes alquilan un rickshaw por unas libras a la semana (entre 40 y 85, según el tipo de vehículo), y como media, frente al manillar se pueden llevar entre 100 y 250 libras semanales, según las horas que trabajen (consulta esta oferta de empleo). Muchos de estos conductores proceden de Latinoamérica (30%), Europa del Este (30%) y Turquía (30%). ¿Españoles? “Alguno que otro también hay —dice Vanessa— pero normalmente vienen sólo por tres meses”.

Si bien lo más solicitado en estos momentos son los alquileres de estos vehículos para bodas y despedidas de soltero y de soltera, Vanessa aún recuerda cuando llamaron a la compañía preguntando si también ofrecían servicios funerarios. “Fue hace poco. Se murió una mujer que siempre había defendido el medio ambiente. Preparamos un carro especial para llevar el féretro y todo el mundo acudió al entierro subido a una bicicleta, fue algo muy especial”, explica.

Pese a estas excepciones, los responsables de los operadores ya no sacan tantas ganancias como antes. Carlos, de Colombia, recuerda el gran negocio que supuso el inicio de los triciclos. “Era una novedad. Los turistas y los mismos ingleses lo veían como algo exótico. Por aquel entonces sí que había trabajo. Te podías sacar alrededor de 700 libras a la semana”, dice. Aunque durante dos años se pasó desde las doce de la mañana hasta las doce de la noche llevando gente de un lado a otro, ahora ha decidido “pasarse al otro lado” del negocio. Hace un mes se compró diez de estas bicicletas de tres ruedas. “Me costaron 700 libras cada una —me cuenta mientras las limpia con esmero— pero quiero vender dos para comprarme una mejor”.

Aunque las de aluminio son las más deseadas, hay un pedicab en concreto que se ha convertido en la “estrella” del garaje. Tiene altavoces de alta definición e incluso hasta televisor. “Se la compró un chico hace tiempo y poco a poco ha ido transformando el vehículo. Ahora es increíble”, dice Vanessa. Aunque el garaje es utilizado por los operadores, también hay particulares que pueden alquilar una plaza individual. Carlos, por ejemplo, paga por su apartado 500 libras al mes. “A los chicos les pides entre 60 y 70 libras a la semana por utilizar la bicicleta. El resto es para ellos. Antes en verano pedían más, pero ahora con la crisis, la cosa está muy mal”, matiza. Aunque hay noches que los conductores se van a casa sólo con 10 libras, Carlos ha enseñado a sus chicos los “trucos” que realmente dan dinero. La jugada maestra son los stripties. “Los turistas siempre te preguntan dónde están. Si tú los llevas, el club te tiene que dar 20 libras. Hay algunos que incluso más”, dice. Los novatos no saben donde están “los puntos estratégicos”, pero los veteranos siempre les ayudan.

Uno de los consejos que también dan a los principiantes es que tengan cuidado con los ‘black cab’, los famosos taxis negros. La batalla que existe entre los dos medios de transporte empezó el mismo día que los triciclos salieron a la calle. “No nos aguantan. Nos cierran el paso e incluso nos tiran monedas de peniques cuando pasan a nuestro lado. Obviamente no todos, pero algunos sí se portan muy mal”, dice Carlos. Por su parte, la Asociación de Conductores de Taxi con Licencia (LTDA) subraya en su página web que “aunque parezca mentira, en el Londres del siglo XXI existe un gran problema con los rickshaws; mientras el Tercer Mundo hace todo lo posible para acabar con el último de esos degradantes artilugios impulsados por pedales, operadores sin escrúpulos obstruyen las calles de la Metrópolis con esas mismas lentas bicis que frenan el tráfico”.

Un episodio que marcó un antes y después en esta guerra fue el pasado mes de diciembre, cuando un peatón se salvó de milagro de un atropello por un ciclocarro descontrolado que colisionó con un restaurante en Soho. La Policía descubrió que el carro tenía batería y los taxistas aprovecharon para pedir que se prohibieran. “Es cierto que algunos utilizaron baterías, pero ahora estamos pendientes de una regulación y nadie se quiere arriesgar a perder el negocio. La pelota lleva años entre el ayuntamiento y la Policía. Aún no sabemos nada, pero puede llegar en cualquier momento, por eso es mejor tener todo perfecto”, matiza Carlos.

Y es que el peso de alguno de los pedicabs hace la jornada insoportable para los conductores. David, de 28 años, empezó hace tan sólo un mes a pedalear y ya no sabe qué pantalones ponerse de todo el peso que ha perdido. “Mis amigos no me reconocen”, me dice mientras me muestra el último agujero del cinturón. Toca el contrabajo y estudia negocios musicales. “En cuanto pueda lo dejo. Hoy por lo menos tengo que sacar 15 libras para pagar el teléfono”. Saca el triciclo que han asignado y me monto en el asiento para irme con él hasta el centro. David asegura que muchas veces, más que el dinero, merece la pena toda la gente interesante que conoce en los trayectos. “Me gusta hablar con ellos”. Y la verdad es que él tiene grandes historias que contar. A los 17 años se fue de casa y desde entonces ha estado viviendo en Canadá, París, Barcelona, Londres… una auténtica caja de sorpresas.

Me deja en mi destino. En Piccadilly me cojo otro ciclocarro para ir hasta China Town. Aunque la mayoría operan en el centro, nada les prohíbe llevar a sus clientes hasta el rincón más perdido de Londres. Mi interlocutor ahora se llama Marek. Es polaco y tiene 22 años. Lleva un año pedaleando. “En cuanto termine los estudios lo dejo”. Aunque la mayoría de sus clientes no le ha dado problemas, también me cuenta que hay muchos borrachos por la noche que se bajan corriendo antes de llegar al destino para no pagar”. Le pregunto por qué apenas hay chicas metidas a “conductoras”. En el momento en el que me deja subirme a la bicicleta lo entiendo todo. Aquello pesaba horrores. El trayecto apenas dura siete minutos. El precio que hemos pactado es de 5 libras. Aunque en su día fueron los más exóticos, hoy los pedicabs se caracterizan por ser el medio de transporte más caro de la capital británica.

Philadelphia Daily News, November 3, 2009

Energetic entrepreneurs will be peddling a new form of transportation in the city soon – at least, they will be if City Council votes as expected to legalize and regulate the pedicab industry.

Pedicabs, or bicycles that tow a trailer with seating for two to four passengers, are common in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and other cities.

City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown decided to introduce the pedicab legislation after seeing the vehicles in New York City.

“I came back to Philadelphia . . . [and] saw there were a couple of pedicab companies, but they were not regulated,” she said.

“I thought it would be a chance to get Philadelphia on the map like other cities and municipalities around the country,” she said. “It creates eco-friendly jobs and is a tourist attraction. It would add charm to the city.”

The bill is scheduled for a Council vote on Nov. 12.

The lack of pedicab regulation in the city had been a problem for local companies and for operators in other cities that wanted to set up shop here.

Ben and Tom Dambman co-own Chariots of Philly, a pedicab company that operated in Manayunk from 2003 until 2005.

When the brothers tried to expand into other parts of Philadelphia, the Department of Licenses and Inspections ordered them to cease operations until pedicab regulation was in place.

For the last three summers, they operated their business in Avalon, N.J.

“We want to work exclusively in Philadelphia – this is our home, and this is where we want to live and work,” said Tom Dambman.

Assuming the legislation passes, Dambman said, “Hopefully, within a couple of weeks we’ll be up and running.”

They hope to have 20 employees by next spring, he said.

Ben Morris, president of Boston Pedicab, also runs pedicab services in Newport, R.I., and San Francisco. He looked into expanding to Philadelphia in spring 2008.

“I thought it would have been a really good fit,” he said. The lack of regulation prevented him, he said.

Now that the legislation looks likely to pass, he said he would “absolutely” look into starting an operation here.

“We’re always looking to expand,” he said.

Philly cycling enthusiasts cheered the news.

“It’s good for the environment, it helps the health and quality of life for Philadelphians,” said John Boyle, advocacy director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. “It helps residents and tourists quickly get to where they need to go, and provides green jobs for the city.”

If Philadelphia cabbies were worried by the possibility of competition, they were playing it cool.

“We have two different markets,” said Ronald Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania.

“Their market is more of novelty travel.”

And in winter, he said, “no one I know is going to want to get on the back of a cold bicycle to get to where they need to go.”

The bride stood out against the backdrop of Central Park: The temperature was in the 50s, yet she had nothing more on her torso than a lace bustier. Below, her dress was as voluminous as an inflated parachute, dragging as she hobbled along the path. I was gliding along comfortably in the back of a pedicab, with plenty of room next to me on the seat. So I offered her a lift.

The look she gave me was not gratitude. After a few more friendly entreaties, the groom caught up to us. “She doesn’t want to,” he said. With that, they turned off the path and she hobbled onward, juggling various hems.

I was stunned. Did she just reject my chivalrous offer? Could I possibly look that weird? Then I thought: Oh wait, she’s seen the video.

If you have not caught it on YouTube or the evening news, the video shows a pedicab driver getting into a brawl with a taxi driver on Broadway, and it has given pedicabs — already viewed as suspect — an unwelcome moment in the spotlight. In June, one got into an accident after crossing the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn, where pedicabs are not allowed in the first place. By the time a Fox 5 cameraman caught the pedicab driver hurling a garbage can at the taxi driver, the whole fleet was in for a whupping.

Now the City Council has passed a law requiring all pedicabs — there’s no reliable figure for how many are on the road — to be inspected and registered by Nov. 20. “Pedicabs have been for too long acting like they rule the streets ahead of any other mode of transportation,” City Councilman Leroy G. Comrie Jr. told The New York Post.

Having never thought to ride one — any more than one of those ridiculous party bikes (which probably are fun if you’re drunk enough to get on) — I had to wonder, could pedicabs really be that bad? Worse even than buses, the oblivious, lumbering bullies of the city streets? So I spent a few days being driven around on three wheels, and even on occasion taking the handlebars myself. Let’s just say I do better in the back than in the front.

The drivers who congregate at 58th Street and Seventh Avenue said they were delighted someone was finally going to regulate their business. They take their jobs seriously, and say people who don’t should be kept off the road.

Bernard Treanor, a driver for six years, has an impeccable pedigree: He trained with George Bliss, an industrial designer, who started one of the city’s first pedicab companies in 1995. “We were all actors and musicians,” said Mr. Treanor, who recently appeared in an independent film and is writing a novel about Central Park. “We needed to do this so we could hit our auditions.”

Today, many drivers are recent immigrants who rent pedicabs by the week (around $200 in summer, as low as $80 in January). Before, “the only thing in these guys’ way was maybe, like, a random goat,” he said. “And now they’re guiding a family through Times Square?” It’s turning police officers, who used to cheer him on, into enemies, he said.

I felt a little silly the first time I climbed into the back seat, but despite the autumn chill I warmed to it quickly. As with riding a bicycle, you see things at that pace that you can’t see from a car, and you get to put your feet up in a way you obviously can’t while walking. If your driver is full of interesting historical information, great, sit back and learn. If not, tell him to shut up (but apologize with a tip).

After a few rides, I persuaded a driver to let me try. It’s hard to keep the wheel straight, and during turns I kept thinking it was going to tip over, as a bicycle might. (A girly shriek ensued.) Of course there’s almost no way to tip over: the vehicles are solidly balanced on three wheels, with a lot of ballast keeping them that way. Especially if your driver hops in the back, as mine eventually did, then invites his friend in, too. By that point I was laughing too hard to go very far. I got no tip.

More seriously, it’s about as green a conveyance as anyone is ever going to find. But what do the tourists who typically ride them care about keeping our streets and our air clear? Perhaps, I started to think, pedicabs are being wasted on their passengers — and perhaps that is part of the reason they’re largely reviled. What if New Yorkers exercised eminent domain and reclaimed these overgrown tricycles for our own daily use?

To lead the way, I tried hiring a pedicab to run a few errands: dry cleaning, deli, the basics. Fine. But when I thought about visiting Aunt Frances at Mount Sinai Hospital, I found that at about $1 per minute or per block, what would be $15 in a taxi would be a trip to the A.T.M. in a pedicab. Fail.

I turned to Mr. Bliss for guidance. “The goal when I started this was that the pedicabs would actually be less money than a yellow cab,” he said.

He began that experiment downtown, where he thought people would be open to the idea, but he found they were too self-conscious to ride in a pedicab. It worked for a while in Midtown, but today, he said, sounding melancholy to the point of despair, the dream is dead.

“The pedicab industry itself became self-marginalizing,” he said. “It became more and more tourist oriented, less transportation oriented. We need drivers who are educated, fluent in languages. They need to be ambassadors to the city.”

We also need stricter regulation of the fleet, he said, and electric-assisted pedicabs — which he developed with a state grant, but the city does not allow. In short, we need the city to decide that a fleet of law-abiding, low-cost vehicles that consume no gas, is in everyone’s interest.

Take that to its logical conclusion and you get people commuting by rickshaw, exchanging newspaper sections with the guy in the next lane at a red light. Kids picked up after school by a parent on three wheels who has already stopped for groceries. A bride in Central Park accepting a lift from a pushy but well-meaning stranger. Wouldn’t you like to live in that city?

It seems a lot of people would say no.

In 2007, a city councilman was quoted in the Village Voice saying that pedicabs caused pollution by increasing congestion. Perhaps he’s right; perhaps pedicabs and cars cannot coexist in Manhattan. Maybe it’s not safe to have three wheels darting in and out of four-wheel traffic. Maybe the time has come to make a change. How about we get rid of the cars?

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Visiting San Francisco once, Michael Rosemond took a ride in a pedicab along that city’s famed waterfront. The pedicab — a small carriage attached to a bicycle operated by a driver — made him an instant fan.

“I talked to one of the owners. He said, ‘Man, you’ve got to start these up in Detroit. People love them,’ ” Rosemond said last week.

That bit of advice led to Rickshaw Detroit, part of a small but growing pedicab trade in and around downtown Detroit. Rosemond operates Rickshaw Detroit with his business partner, Terry Walker, and they say that the growing number of clubs, restaurants, and special events downtown and up through the Midtown district prove ideal for the pedicab trade.

The business requires a lot of pedaling each partner rides perhaps 20 miles a day on summer weekends at the height of their season. But business has been brisk enough that Rickshaw Detroit no longer charges fares but gets by on tips.

“You can actually get more when you just ask for tips,” Walker said. “People love them so much.”

Rosemond added, “Once they get in, they don’t want to get out.”

The partners operate a lot along Detroit’s RiverWalk, carrying passengers along the waterfront promenade or to downtown restaurants. They also hire out to special events like weddings or the annual open house sponsored by Crain’s Detroit Business.

Both men live in Detroit and have other jobs. Walker, 50, is a safety officer with the Detroit Public Schools and a master sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve. He has served two combat tours in Iraq. Rosemond, 59, is a receptionist at the Detroit Institute of Art.

The partners met at a Detroit City Council meeting where both were lobbying for approval of a pedicab business. “We said, ‘Why don’t we get together? Two heads are better than one,’ ” Rosemond said.

The up-front investment remains modest. Each of the pedicabs, purchased from a Denver manufacturer, costs from $3,200 to $4,200, depending if you buy frills like a canopy. Then there’s insurance and a variety of other out-of-pocket expenses. Operators must obtain a rickshaw license from the City of Detroit.

The partners own three of the pedicabs, operating two themselves while they look for a third driver.

“It’s one of those businesses that you can start right out of the box,” Walker said. “You have the potential to recoup your investment really fast.”

Pedicabs offer the potential for advertising tie-ins and various partnerships. Walker said he also has benefitted from entrepreneurial training offered by TechTown, the business incubator operating on Wayne State University’s campus.

Cars pollute as soon as they are turned on, whether they are moving or sitting still in traffic. To blame air pollution on rickshaws because they slow down cars is outrageous. Even when moving smoothly and well-maintained, cars pollute.

Internationally, cars are the major polluters of our air and the major contributors to climate change. Worldwide, the most air pollution is created by the United States, not because their cars are slowed by rickshaws, or because their cars are poorly maintained, but because Americans drive so much. Cars pollute; lots of cars pollute a lot. CNG is cleaner than other fuels, but as it is a carbon-based fuel, it still releases carbon dioxide into the air as well as the cancer-causing chemical benzene, for which no safe level of exposure is known.

People travelling by foot, bicycle, or rickshaw arrive at their destination without contributing to air pollution; people travelling by a motorized vehicle, even a bus, contribute to air pollution. While the rich are the main sources of air pollution, everyone breathes the air. Meanwhile, if the rich believe they are somehow immune to air pollution because they live with air conditioning, they might wish to remember that they too must breathe the same air that they are polluting; the more cars, the more they too will suffer.