By STEPHANIE SIMON

DENVER — Owners of bicycle rickshaws, already a popular way of getting about downtown Denver, are seizing on the Democratic National Convention as a chance to showcase their human-powered taxis as more than just a novelty.

Steve Meyer, owner of one of Denver’s largest fleets of pedicabs and a manufacturer of the vehicles, wants the convention’s national audience to see bike taxis as a dynamic part of the urban fabric and the ultimate in green transportation.

“People see pedicabs as like a horse-drawn carriage, sitting there on the curb for our amusement. We want people to see them in a new light, as a fundamental mode of transportation,” said Mr. Meyer, whose Mile High Pedicabs boasts a 40-vehicle fleet.

Bike-pedaled rickshaws took off in the U.S. scene in the early 1990s, in large part due to Mr. Meyer’s promotion. He got them recognized early on as part of the mix in revitalizing Denver’s downtown pedestrian mall.

Mr. Meyer makes bike taxis in his Broomfield, Colo., factory, selling 3,000 in the last 15 years to buyers across the country. The biggest markets include New York, San Diego, Austin, Texas, and Miami. Mr. Meyer says he hopes greater exposure during the convention will translate to bigger business.

Pedicabs, which weigh about 200 pounds empty, can take passengers as far as several miles, but most runs are two to 10 blocks — often too short for a conventional cab, and for pedestrians encumbered by packages, ill health or alcohol, too long to walk. Most rickshaw buggies seat two, though sometimes four or five passengers squeeze in.

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Tags: democratic national convention, downtown denver, fleets, independent contractors, mode of transportation, national audience, pedestrian mall, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw, steve meyer, vehicle fleet

Apr 19th 2007 | DENVER, LONDON AND NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition

Regulation threatens a booming business with, er, a cyclical downturn

AP

A PEDICAB borrowed from a friend for a conference on pedestrianisation in 1990 got Steve Meyer pedalling what is now a fast-moving business. Hoping to liven up the often-deserted streets of downtown Denver, his hometown, he bought two of the bicycle taxis. But they did not work very well, so he started building what has since become the industry standard, with 21 gears, hydraulic brakes and so on. His firm, Main Street Pedicabs, now caters to rising demand both in America and abroad.

Alas, regulation in two of the biggest markets for pedicabs threatens to puncture Mr Meyer’s upbeat mood. Last month New York’s city council voted to impose onerous rules on the hitherto unregulated pedicab industry and to limit the number of pedicabs to 325. A protest prompted Michael Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, to veto the new rules, apparently out of entrepreneurial fellow feeling for the pedicab drivers, but the city council is likely to override his veto, perhaps as soon as next week.

Pedicabs first started operating in New York in the mid-1990s, but their numbers soared from around 100 to over 500 after they featured in an episode of Donald Trump’s business reality-television contest, “The Apprentice”, in 2004. For the sort of fit youngster who wants a flexible job—many drivers in New York are actors or students—it pays well: $300 on a good day, though typically half that. The cost of entry is low, perhaps $4,500, compared with $400,000 for a yellow-taxi medallion.

Pedicabs are under attack in London, too, where an estimated 400 operate. Transport for London, a regulatory body, is reviving its controversial claim that pedicabs should be regulated as “hackney carriages”, like the city’s black cabs. Chris Smallwood, chairman of the London Pedicab Operators Association and boss of Bugbugs, a 60-strong pedicab firm, says treating pedicabs like black cabs would impose unbearable costs on the industry. He has helped to draft an amendment to a bill now before the House of Lords that would introduce lighter pedicab regulations.

There is striking agreement between the pedicab trade groups in both London and New York that some sort of regulation is needed, not least to deter rogue operators. But current proposals seem to serve the interests of motor-taxi drivers, who want their rivals off the road.

The irritation is that pedicabs do not compete much with motor-taxis, say Messrs Meyer and Smallwood. Pedicab journeys tend to be the short trips that drivers of gas-guzzling taxis hate most. Pedicabs’ main competition is walking, says Mr Meyer, who points out that if New York’s 12,000 yellow cabs were replaced with pedicabs, “there would be a lot less congestion”. Here’s hoping that politicians on both sides of the Atlantic cast their votes for pedal power.

Copyright © 2007 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.

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Published March 15, 2006 by RockyMountain News
By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

BROOMFIELD – Main Street Pedicabs has grown in fits and starts since Steve Meyer founded the company 14 years ago.

Based in this northern suburb of Denver, the company has turned out about 1,000 of its pedal-powered taxis throughout the years. But the rickshawlike contraptions have become a familiar sight in more and more downtown areas around the globe – most recently in Manhattan’s bustling, traffic-clogged Times Square.

Meyer, 52, hadn’t intended to start a business when he first bought a pedicab from an acquaintance in Aspen. But when he had trouble getting replacement parts for his hobby vehicle, he soon found himself trying to build a better one from scratch.

“I always kind of had a vision they could be used in America, but I didn’t know I was going to be the guy to do it,” said Meyer, who spent the early part of his career doing market research and planning for developers.

Initially, New Yorkers seemed reluctant to be seen in pedicabs. Like self-conscious teenagers, some requested they be dropped a block away from their destinations.

A spate of publicity has helped to spur acceptance.

A bright-yellow model is featured prominently on the cover of the Fodor’s New York City 2006, a guide to the city.

Contestants pedaled them a few months ago on NBC’s weight-loss show, The Biggest Loser. An appearance on The Apprentice two years ago helped to fuel interest.

But Main Street Pedicabs has grown in a number of directions from its manufacturing roots. Selling advertising space on the back of the taxis has become a significant part of the business. And Meyer is a co-owner of several pedicab-operating companies around the country, including Mile High Pedicabs in Denver.

“I make more money operating a pedicab than making one,” he said.

“The business works for us because we’re involved in so many facets of it,” Meyer said Tuesday in his newly expanded office, which still smelled strongly of a fresh coat of green paint.

Meyer gets help from his wife, Ruth Vanderkooi, when she’s not tending to her family medical practice. Otherwise, he has just a few full-time employees who assemble the pedicabs one at a time in space above the company’s offices.

As Meyer sits at his computer, he sees a call coming in from Tel Aviv, Israel, where he has been talking to someone who wants to buy a couple of the pedicabs for his own personal use.

Individuals increasingly have been buying the pedicabs to use in town or to get around islands where parking is scarce.

The pedicabs start at $2,900 but can cost as much $5,000 with all the options. They are built like mountain bikes, with 21 speeds, and have a cushioned carriage in the rear for toting passengers.

Meyer, who grew up in Boulder, said he is often questioned about whether he pursued pedicabs because of environmental concerns. But he insists his main motivation is “improving the quality of life” in cities. “I’d rather promote something than list all the things I’m against,” he said.

In Denver, pedicabs tend to operate on nights and weekends, during ballgames and other events that require people to walk several blocks from parking areas or light-rail stops.

“They add a real vitality to downtown,” said Tami Door, president of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “People like it because it’s fun. Downtowns should be fun.”

Ed Oliver, who is Meyer’s partner in the Denver pedicab operation, said he often drives a pedicab around the Pepsi Center parking lot, offering free rides during events. In most cases, passengers wind up tipping him at least $5 a ride.

“People hate walking across parking lots,” Meyer said.

With a new St. Louis Cardinals ballpark set to open in April, a budding pedicab operator awaits her order from Main Street Pedicabs.

“We want to get a business started just to and fro,” said St. Louis resident Jill Saettele, an avid cyclist who found Main Street Pedicabs on the Internet. “The parking (at the new stadium) is very limited, so they’re doing shuttles. This is the most fantastic opportunity.”

The pedicabs have caught on most in urban environments, but have also captured the attention of an array of communities with a shortage of downtown parking.

Meyer initially thought Aspen might be a good market. “But nobody who would drive one could afford to live in Aspen,” he said.

A new customer from Crested Butte picked one up Monday, with hopes of building a following in the ski town.

Long Beach, Calif., is about to get a fleet of pedicabs for its downtown.

“It’s part of the overall eclectic experience we’re trying to create,” said Kraig Kojian, president of Downtown Long Beach Associates, the improvement district for the oceanfront community. “We don’t have seasons, so people can enjoy the experience throughout the year.”

Main Street Pedicabs

• Home base: Broomfield

• Founded: 1992

• Products: Bicycle-powered taxis selling for between $2,900 and $5,000, with all the options

• Markets: Urban areas such as New York City, Denver, London, Paris and others

Tags: apprentice, bicycle, Denver, downtown denver, Long Beach, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, Manhattan, nbc, NEW YORK, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, pepsi center, rickshaw, rocky mountain news, selling advertising, steve meyer, street pedicabs, taxis, times square