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

The scene was vintage New York as 32 pedicabs chauffeured patrons from the Essex Hotel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art during a prearranged ride. The organizer Lisa said “Thank you so much for Saturday. Our ride up to the Met was the highlight of the weekend, everyone is still talking about it and will be for a long time to come I am sure!! Please thank all the riders, they were amazing. And tell them that you guys were the most reliable, professional and fun mode of transportation we used all weekend. I think you’ll have some new customers in the future. Thanks again and all the best.”

Tags: future, metropolitan museum of art, mode of transportation, Museum, NEW YORK, patrons, pedicabs, Press Releases, scene, weekend

Denver Business Journal – by Tom Locke Denver Business Journal

In the old fishing villages on the southeast coast of Spain, the streets are narrow, the parking is atrocious and the tourists are plentiful.

But for tourists who are too tired and sweaty to take another step under the hot Spanish sun, there is relief, thanks to a little Broomfield company that is bridging the walker-automobile transportation gap with something called a “pedicab.”

On a recent morning in March, a dozen or so yellow pedicabs lay ready for shipment to Spain in the small warehouse of Main Street Pedicabs Inc., a company that has championed pedicabs for more than a decade under the leadership of its owner and CEO, Steve Meyer. “We’re not only building pedicabs, we’re building a pedicab industry,” Meyer said.

Meyer said he stuck with pedicabs while others might have given up because he and his wife, Ruth Vanderkooi, simply love the business. And that’s even though they make less than they would if they were fully employed somewhere else, he said.

Meyer has a background in urban planning, and sees himself as sort of a champion of an alternative form of transportation that can add excitement and utility to boring cities dominated by automobiles.

So, thanks in part to supplemental income earned by his wife and to real estate development projects on the side, Meyer has persevered in the pedicab business and figures he’s easily the biggest pedicab manufacturer in the United States.

(more…)

Tags: apprentice, Cabs, city of denver, college campuses, customers, Denver, denver business journal, Donald, donald trump, driver, Electric, exposure, Houston, Las Vegas, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, Manhattan, manhattan rickshaw, manufacturer, market, marketing, NEW YORK, Pedicab, pedicab business, Pedicab News, pedicab operators, pedicabs, steve meyer, street pedicabs, three wheeled vehicles, Transport, transportation, tricycle, trump

Over 20 pedicabs were involved for 2003 featuring vinyl wrapping in Festival colors such as orange and pink with Festival sponsorship decals such as Altoids, Citibank, Delta Airlines, Grand Marnier and the Intercontinental Hotel. In addition, this year’s clothing sponsor of the Festival was Eddie Bauer with its Explore Your Environment campaign. “Eddie Bauer is a brand with strong links to the outdoors and it’s our goal to encourage all people to get outside and enjoy nature,” said Fabian Mansson, CEO of Eddie Bauer, in a statement. And that commitment was demonstrated in the sponsorship of a fleet of wrapped Eddie Bauer khaki and denim-themed pedicabs providing complementary service to Festival attendees at venues around town.

The perfect advertising platform for the modern metropolitan area is a Pedicab. Main Street Pedicabs is the only company offering national level marketing on pedicabs. We will customize a campaign that will put you in front of your customers. Visit Pedicabvertising to learn more.

Main Street Pedicabs™ is the market leader and the largest manufacturer of pedicabs in North America. Pedicabvertising from Main Street Outdoor offers turnkey national and international level marketing on our Pedicabs and advertising opportunities in Denver, Chicago, Orlando, New York, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Houston and San Diego. We also help companies advertise abroad and can cover any market with our traveling advertising team.

We also manufacture the Billboard Bike. Having the billboard in such close proximity to people on foot makes it a unique “point-of-sale” type of media. The same places where pedicabs are the most successful are the places where your business advertising will be most effective. Now you can have the exposure you need by advertising on a Main Street Pedicab!

Content provided courtesy manhattanrickshaw.com.

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Tags: advertising opportunities, Austin, billboard, brand, business advertising, Chicago, citibank, close proximity, complementary service, customize, delta airlines, Denver, eddie bauer, environment campaign, Houston, level marketing, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, manufacturer, market, market leader, metropolitan area, NEW YORK, North America, Orlando, Pedicab, Pedicabvertising, point of sale, Press Releases, San Diego, San Francisco, sponsor, sponsorship, turnkey

FROM NEW YORK Karin Bacon Events (KBE) brought a little beach flavor to Manhattan for a rollicking party for Alize. Called the Cruise to Passion, the cognac-soaked event included a trip on a Circle Line cruise ship that launched from Pier 16 at the South Street Seaport.

But here’s what made it more than your typical jaunt along the water: The evening’s hostesses were Charo (who’s still famous just for being Charo) and Traci Elizabeth Lords (who’s still famous for being a porn star, even if she’s added a middle name). The guest list included drag performers including Screaming Queens’ Miss Understood and Justin Bond (half of the brilliant downtown lounge act Kiki & Herb). KBE brought in a makeup artist to give guests temporary tattoos, and drag DJ Lady Bunny played a mix of disco hits and ship-inspired music (“Rock the Boat” and the theme from The Love Boat). It all felt more Coney Island than Frankie and Annette.

Guests arriving at the event–which was blessed with beautiful early-summer weather–got help getting to the dock area from Manhattan Rickshaw Company pedicabs, which also added to the carefree, fun feel of the event. After an hour and a half of cocktails on the dock and aboard the ship, the boat went for an hour-long jaunt around the Statue of Liberty.

The folks from KBE brought their typical creative touch to all.phpects of the event, from the fun invitations (flower-studded flip flops), to the beach towels and umbrellas arranged as decor on the pier, to the sand pail (by Best Impressions) filled with beachy toys given as gift bags.

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Tags: booze cruise, Coochie, creative touch, frankie and annette, Manhattan, manhattan rickshaw company, NEW YORK, Pedicab News, pedicabs, south street seaport, traci elizabeth lords