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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Pedestrians in downtown Long Beach soon will be able to hail a cab – a pedicab, that is. The City Council on Tuesday night approved a permit for up to 20 of the rickshaw-like tricycle taxis to operate in the downtown area from the shoreline north to Eighth Street and from Alamitos Avenue west to the Los Angeles River.

The service would link key downtown areas, like Pine Avenue, the Pike at Rainbow Harbor, the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and the East Village Arts District. Rides would cost $1 for every 1/10 of a mile as measured by an odometer on each pedicab.

Proponents of the cabs believe they can help alleviate parking and traffic congestion problems while enhancing the downtown atmosphere for pedestrians.

“It adds to the ambiance and environment of our growing downtown and provides a unique service for visitors to gain a different perspective,” said Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of the Downtown Long Beach Associates, which began courting pedicab operators several years ago.

The application was filed by Long Beach Pedicabs LLC, a subsidiary of Colorado-based Main Street Pedicabs. The company will lease the cabs to the drivers, who will act as independent businesses. The company also will sell advertising space on the cabs, the main source of revenue for the operation.

Main Street Pedicabs manages fleets in New York, Chicago, Orlando and Denver, said Steve Meyer, the company’s president. The company also manufactures and sells the cabs to more than 50 international cities including Montreal, London, Milan and Sydney. Meyer said downtown Long Beach is a good place for the cabs.

“With the Pike and the new developments along Pine Avenue, there is a lot of drawing power for the downtown area and those people need to get around,” he said.

Pedicabs have proliferated in a number of cities in the last decade, Meyer said, but not without some opposition.

Once viewed solely as a novelty, the pedicabs have come to fill a transportation niche, covering distances too short for traditional taxi rides but too long for some people to walk, Meyer said. There are now more than 200 pedicabs pedaling around midtown Manhattan in New York, up from a handful a decade ago.

“They offer something that really is not filled by all other transit modes,” Meyer said. “They wouldn’t exist if not for the fact they are needed.”

But concerns about traffic safety and uninsured operators have limited pedicabs elsewhere, including in Las Vegas. Last year, the city outlawed the vehicles along the Las Vegas Strip, citing accidents and complaints from taxi drivers.

Meyer said problems arise from a lack of regulation concerning the pedicab drivers, as well as their equipment.
Long Beach pedicab drivers will be required to obtain a driver’s permit from the police department and have an individual business license. Long Beach Pedicabs has a tentative agreement for insurance with McKay Insurance Agency, an Iowa-based company that insures more than 30 pedicab companies.

Meyer said the 21-speed, two- and three-passenger pedicabs his company produces are specifically designed for safe street use.

“It’s a single-piece frame with hydraulic brakes,” he said. “It’s not a bicycle hauling a trailer.”

Meyer said the pedicabs could be operating in downtown Long Beach as early as March 1. Initially, there will be four cabs with the number gradually increased to 20 by the end of the first year. Any further increase would require City Council approval.

The service will operate from 7 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily. Most of the pedicab trips are likely to originate and terminate along Pine Avenue, Meyer said. Pickup and drop off will be limited to designated passenger-loading zones. Pedicabs cannot operate on sidewalks.

Content provided courtesy gazettes.com.