By Rachel Kipp, The News Journal

NEWARK, Del. — Downtowns, particularly college towns, make room — and rules — for new pedicabs.

Pedicabs, adult-size tricycles with room in the back for passengers, have gone from the occasional tourist attraction to a more prominent means of public transportation, prompting a race by cities to beef up safety ordinances amid backlash from automobile cab operators.

(more…)

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.

(more…)