USA TODAY article about pedicabs

[JNA]

HEADLINE: A lean, green transit machine
Downtowns, particularly college towns, make room — and rules — for new pedicabs

HIGHLIGHTS:

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.

Manufacturer Main Street Pedicabs mentioned in the articlehere is their website: http://www.pedicab.com/
Looking at their webite - billboard bike - how would/should you regulate that ?

Cities discussed in the article:
NY, NY
Newark, DE
Bloomington, IN
Marietta, GA
Salem, MA

Have you experienced a pedicab ride ?
Would pedicabs be sucessful / an issue in your fair city ?

I see them as a seasonal alternative.
Our 2 local universities are not located to make them really practical. IMHO

[DetroitPlanner]

There is a pedicab service that operates along Detroit's riverfront. I dunno how popular its going to be in a few weeks when the winds of November chill really start to make the lakes cold.

[Veloise]

We have two pedicab companies operating in my fair city, with 4 units (Elite) and two (Green).

Being on the 42nd parallel means we get snow. But the p-cabs operate only downtown (not even a couple square miles), where there's a snowmelt system and excellent maintenance. They also ply the streets during bar hours (many patrons walk around sans coats) and for special events, so they pick up pedestrians who are not normally downtown. Many conventioneers and suburban visitors.

The p-cabs have picked up sponsors. I believe that this is unregulated (it's not a big deal). IIRC the local taxi companies successfully lobbied to get the no-hailing law revoked.

On weekend nights the p-cabs add a lot of vibrancy and fun. Green has rope lighting underneath the passenger compartment, and both companies are highly visible (rear running lights, headlamps). Bar patrons go on joy rides, arena customers snag a lift back to their cars, when the operators are bored they put on drag races (it is rumored).

Elite is also approved to operate in Lansing (Michigan's capitol city). The units are transported back and forth.

Here's the thread from our Urban Planet forum with much discussion, photos, some banter.

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/to...e__hl__pedicab

ETA: Looks like there are pedicabs in East Lansing, too. And there's a company operating in Mackinaw City (highly seasonal).

ETA: Article in the Freep:
http://www.freep.com/article/2009110...h-bicycle-cabs

We've got highlights:
The partners met at a Detroit City Council meeting where both were lobbying for approval of a pedicab business. "We said, 'Why don't we get together? Two heads are better than one,' " Rosemond said.

"It's one of those businesses that you can start right out of the box," Walker said. "You have the potential to recoup your investment really fast."

[Veloise]

Here's the website for the second Detroit p-cab company (mentioned in the Freep article). Check out the photo of the unit; it resembles an aerodynamic electric car.

http://www.michiganbreezecab.com/

According to their forum, the unit is manufactured in Germany, and costs $12k. It appears that they turn out for special events.

[Gotta Speakup]

Pedicabs operate all year round in Boston. They were kind of sketchy a couple of years ago, but then the city laid down regulations for them and they are quite popular, especially in my neighborhood which can be as much as 3/4 of a mile from a subway stop.

[The One]

I've seen these in downtown Phoenix.....in late summer I'd prefer my pedicab be powered by foot, not bike How about San Francisco....that would be fun to watch them trying to go uphill or out of control downhill