Am I the last person in the western hemisphere to find out that the pedicab, known in Far East since the 30s as the cheapest means of city transportation, has made it big in the urban US? After 11 years on the streets in the Big Apple, there are enough of these bicycle-drawn passenger vehicles to rile the City Council into regulating them and banning the ones with electric motors. The spoilsports. The New York horsedrawn carriage and taxi trades are complaining that pedicabs cut into their business without having the expense of licenses and insurance.

Pedicabs are also beginning to tote tourists in downtown Portland, OR, Denver and Ft. Lauderdale, as well as in Spain, Denmark, England, Israel and Canada. Most carry two people, but there’s a four-passenger pedicab being operated in Phoenix. They’re even emblazoned with advertising, like taxis and buses.

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Ice cream cones and X-ray machines were popularized at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. Will “pedicabs” – those passenger carts pulled by bicycle riders – be mainstreamed by the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver?

Big events like conventions and fairs offer entrepreneurs a big opportunity to get their new inventions exposure to lots of people in a short period of time. Entrepreneurs can very quickly see whether there’s demand for their goods and get real-time feedback. (Giving away free product can also be a good way to generate buzz at big events, as I wrote last week.)

Today, my colleague Stephanie Simon highlights how Denver pedicab companies hope the Democratic National Convention will be their chance to show consumers the wonders of being driven by a bicycle rickshaw rather than a gas-guzzling taxi cab on short trips.

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By Andrea Sachs
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 29, 2008; P06

Among the experiences that make one go “Eek!,” tooling around Manhattan in a rickshaw ranks high, falling somewhere between a cab ride during rush hour and walking through Times Square after the theaters let out. Some of the bike-drawn buggies come equipped with seat belts; others don’t. You decide your threshold of thrill.

“There’s a real rush going through traffic,” said Jacob Press, a tour guide with the Manhattan Rickshaw Co., the longest continuously operating pedicab outfit in New York City. “We can always find a way through.”

I have explored the City That Never Stops by foot, bus and bike. But on a recent trip, I wanted to sightsee in a vehicle that was intimate with the urban landscape but didn’t require any energy expenditure. So I called Manhattan Rickshaw a few days before my visit and booked Press and his quads.

Rickshaws are pervasive in Asia, where the economical bicycles with big back seats jostle for space among mopeds, cars, beasts of burden and swarms of pedestrians. In the United States, they’re more of a novelty than a necessity but are a rousing ride nonetheless. Though passengers are not as vulnerable as the biker, they’re still thrust into the chaotic street scene.

“It’s a combination of entertainment and transportation,” said Manhattan Rickshaw owner Peter Meitzler, who was instrumental in bringing pedicabs to New York. “It’s fun and environmental and fills a niche.”

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The Cayman Islands now have their own new rickshaw cab business, called Wheels PediCab Service.

“Environmentally friendly, well-equipped state-of-the-art rickshaw bicycles are a new way of getting around Seven Mile Beach and George Town,” said owner and operator Brian Barnes.

“I have no set route, and go wherever the passenger wants to go. They are well-equipped with signals, break lights, headlights, even seatbelts.”

Mr Barnes thought of the idea two years ago, and made his first application in September 2005 to import the rickshaw bicycles.

“The first two are here, and there are more on the way,” he said.

They can also be used for special events, such as weddings, private parties, parades, etc and they are also available for advertising and branding,” he added.

Mr Barnes also said businesses can advertise on the cabs, by ‘branding’ them with companies’ or products’ logos.

“It’s something new to Cayman and people use them right now in big cities such as Denver, New York, Florida, Las Vegas and Victoria in British Columbia, which is where I first fell in love with them and rode them to earn spare money, when I was going to school there,” said Mr Barnes.

People will be able to locate the cabs in and around the Seven Mile Beach and George Town locations.

For contact information people can phone 947-2222 or visit the company’s website at www.CaymanPediCab.com or email christopher@caymannetnews.com.

Content provided courtesy caymannetnews.com.

View this article.

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