What’s up with those bike rickshaws?

It’s a question that bears repeating. So …What’s up with those bike rickshaws?

They seemed to appear out of nowhere this winter, multiplying like bunnies during the inauguration. Tourists seemed to think they’d always been there, a la Central Park East in New York City, but locals knew better. This is DC. We sell tourists “FBI: You Don’t Know Me” T-shirts, scream at them to stand to the right, sell ‘em a half-smoke and send ‘em packing. At best, they can shell out $60 to steer a Segway for an hour while wearing a dorky-looking helmet. (more…)

Tags: adams morgan, Cabs, cadillac, central park, central park east, city, fbi, inauguration, locals, mayor adrian fenty, New York City, obama, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rfk stadium, rickshaw, rickshaws, segway, throwback, tourists, Transport, transportation, weekend

From Pedicabs to Peddling Cosmetics, Economy Pushes Some to Seek Extra Work

Shelby Shenkelman enjoys working as a pricing analyst for a company that produces airline meals. At 25, she is making more than $50,000 a year.”It should not be a bad salary,” she said. That is, unless you have $30,000 in student loans, a $300 a month car payment, some credit card debt, grocery bills that seem to be going up and rent that definitely is going up. “I can survive on my one paycheck, but it’s very, very difficult. It’s very, very tight,” the Reston resident said. In December, she decided to take a second job. Two nights during the week and on weekend days, she works as a personal shopper at a clothing store, earning $9 an hour plus commission.

With a grim economic outlook for 2009, more Americans are not just cutting costs but are finding ways to make more money by taking part-time or odd jobs, employers and economists said. Many are doing it because their wages have stalled while the cost of living has gone up. Others are picking up extra work to pay off debt or cushion their savings. For others, it’s a backup plan in case they get laid off from their full-time jobs.

(more…)

Tags: America, backup plan, Cabs, company, economic troubles, odd jobs, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, Safety, second job, TIG, traffic, US, ways to make more money, weekend, weekend jobs

Entrepreneur powers his one-man horseless carriage during the wee hours Downtown

Wes Weisheit vigorously pedaled his bike along North Fourth Avenue, pulling a reporter in the “cab” behind. The gentle bumps during the ride seemed to echo the pulsating beats from the Bose stereo attached to his bike.

This open-air taxi burns no gasoline and provides a leisurely ride to your destination.

Otherwise known as pedicabs, rickshaws or bike taxis, you’ve probably seen them cruising the streets during University of Arizona football games or late night on Fourth Avenue.

(more…)

Tags: advertising, bicycle, Cabs, downtown, downtowns, Drivers, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, operator, passenger, Pedicab, pedicab driver, pedicab drivers, Pedicab News, pedicabs, pub crawls, rickshaw, rickshaws, street pedicabs, taxis, transportation, weekend, wheels

By Steve Hawkes
Tim Mason has heard it all. Ever since the Tesco executive launched the supermarket giant’s Fresh & Easy venture in America a year ago, analysts have accused him of missing sales targets by a mile, while unions pushing for negotiating rights have complained that staff morale has fallen through the floor.

The critics were out again last week after The Times revealed that, faced with recession, Mr Mason was being forced to slow the store rollout programme. Worried? He hardly looks it. One minute, he’s jumping on to a Fresh & Easy rickshaw for a photo shoot; the next, he’s leading a chorus of Happy Birthday at the head office in Palm Beach, Los Angeles, to mark the chain’s first anniversary.

Asked about the prospect of a looming supermarket price war in America, he jokingly cites the line about amplifiers in This is Spinal Tap, the spoof “rockumentary”: “We’ll do better than the rest,” he says. “Our knobs go up to 11.”

(more…)

Tags: America, culture, difference, future, Los Angeles, Manhattan, market, marketing, Newspaper, Pedicab, Pedicab News, Product, recession, rickshaw, route, San Francisco, Story, US, weekend

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