Jul
15
PEDICABS GONE WILD
July 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Jul
15
Kayaks, Unicycles and Rickshaws
July 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Why travel to work like a sardine squashed into a tin?
Andrew Shanahan meets the commuters who have ditched trains, buses and cars for less conventional transport
By Andrew Shanahan - The Guardian
London, England
Barry Gates: The reaction from other commuters is good.
Photo: Graeme Robertson
Bill Corr, Software Engineer
Rickshaw
When my wife decided to start working again, it seemed like we’d need to get another car to get the kids to school. We really didn’t want to because I work at home [but do the school run] and it just seemed like a waste, so we explored alternatives and I found this rickshaw on the internet. I showed it to my wife and I thought she was going to say, “Don’t be stupid!” but she said, “That looks really cool!” which flabbergasted me. So that set the idea in motion.
We were very dubious about whether it would be feasible because it’s very hilly in this part of Devon, which is why we chose a motorised rickshaw, to give me some help pedaling a full load of about 200kg up a 1:4 hill! It cost us about £5,000, which was pretty expensive but they have a very high resale value. When it arrived in February it was quite cold and rainy and I thought that might put the children off it, but they absolutely love it, and it gets a very favourable reaction from most people.
On the school run there’s quite a long hill where you have to park your car at the bottom and walk up. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve given other kids a ride up the hill and then given a load of mums a lift back down. It’s designed for three adults but you can get six kids in it.
I definitely think people should look for alternative ways of doing their current commute. It does make me laugh that people drive a few miles to work, drive home and then drive to the gym. Why don’t they just cycle to work? People are stuck in the mentality that a car is what takes you to work and back.
I have always lived outside of that car-loving mentality simply because I adore cycling. The other thing we’ve found is that commuting can be fun. If I’d only bought the rickshaw because of the environmental benefits and the children hated it, we would have spent a fortune to make the children miserable. Fortunately, it’s a scream, it’s cheap to run and I can be smug about the fuel prices rising!
Chris Dawes, Chief flying instructor
Microlight
On an average day it takes me about 15 minutes to fly the microlight to work. It would take me about an hour and 20 minutes if I was driving a car to work, so it makes sense. In the summer I may start teaching very early and not finish until late - and the last thing I want to do is get in a car for a long journey home. Flying is quicker and definitely more enjoyable.
I take off from a field outside my house - for a microlight all you need is about 150 metres of field to get airborne. So I get to the field, kick the tyres and get in. As I climb away I take a bearing straight for an old stone circle. I fly at about 3,000 feet at about 80 knots and there’s even a heater in the microlight - it has all the mod cons. I don’t listen to the radio because when I’m commuting it’s nice just to have time for myself without interruptions. Quite often when I’m flying along I’ll see a traffic jam tailing back on the motorway - and I always make sure I wave.
The flight is beautiful. In the morning you get a lovely light slanting across the land far below you, and in the evening when I’m getting home late the light comes from another angle and makes everything look different again. People are always surprised by how close you get to the birds when you’re flying. I see a lot of kites and buzzards on the way to work.
I’d definitely recommend it as a form of commuting, although it takes a minimum of 25 hours to get a national private pilot’s licence. What most people do to get started is buy a share in a microlight. Then you just pay for it by the hour for the fuel they’re using. You can get shares in a really good microlight for between £4,000 and £10,000 and you’re away.
Barry Gates, Computer consultant
Unicycle
I’ve been riding a unicycle to work for four or five years. I take a car to the station with the unicycle in the boot, then an intercity into Paddington and then I unicycle to London Bridge. The route’s quite nice because it takes you into Hyde Park, past Buckingham Palace in front of the guards and into Westminster Square, across the bridge and past the National Film Theatre and to my office on the river.
There are several reasons why I do it: on a practical level it takes the same amount of time as the tube - and I’m a unicycle hockey player in my spare time, so this is a great way of keeping fit for that.
I think there is also an element that it’s a bit quirky, which I suppose I enjoy. The unicycle is a big 36in wheel and the saddle comes up to your armpit, so when you’re riding it you’re very tall . Perhaps I have delusions of grandeur that I’m taller than everyone else when I’m riding it! It’s also quite a relaxed start to the day because I weave in and out of pedestrians and the cars don’t give me any hassle.
The reaction from other commuters is really good. Occasionally people say that you’ve made their day and wave but then other days you might get attacked! Most people are very accepting and think it’s a bit of a laugh - and you get dialogue with regular commuters. At the office people are used to it now, although there’s a lot of Indian offshore workers in the building and I think they find it very bizarre.
It only costs a couple of hundred quid to get a unicycle and they are very robust. Having said that I wouldn’t say it was a particularly safe form of transport. You need a lot of practice to get the confidence to go on a road. On a standard 20in unicycle you could probably get to go in a straight line in a week and get to be a confident rider in about two or three weeks. To get up to a bigger unicycle is probably about six months. The good thing about that though is that it means the unicycle is pretty safe from thieves - I think most self-respecting criminals would get laughed out of town just trying to mount it, let alone make a quick getaway!
Ricardo Assis Rosa, Assistant architect
Kayak
I started kayaking to work because I’m lucky to have a garden that backs on to the river in Bath and the office is only about 80 yards from the river. Also I have a terrible travel bug and I feel a need to be moving all the time - this is a way of working in an office but keeping this part of me happy because it makes it feel like I’m on a journey or on a holiday every day. I don’t think it’s strange, especially if you think that 100 years ago the river would have been one of the main access points into Bath, so it’s just revisiting that idea that a river can be used for commercial transport.
At work they think it’s great, we have a very environmental focus in the office and this is just another way of putting those beliefs into action. I think one of the key things about being aware of green issues is to actually spend time with nature - with trees and rain and the river - which makes us much more aware of why we make environmental decisions.
From a practical point of view there aren’t many problems. When I kayak, I have my work clothes in a rucksack; fortunately we have a casual office so I don’t need to crumple a suit. Then I put my phone and wallet in a Tupperware container to keep them dry if I capsize, and my lunch in another Tuppperware box. The worst thing is that the swans can be very territorial, especially during the mating season, but I take some bread and pay my toll and they’re fine.
It’s funny but there’s one bridge I kayak under where I always see people stuck in their cars. You look at them and you know that some of them don’t even know they’re on a bridge and that this beautiful river is right under their noses. But you do see people peering down sometimes - and we look at each other and realise that we’re both on our way to work.
Jul
15
Pedaling For Profit
July 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
New York Pedicab (photo courtesy of Big Mike, Creative Commons license)
A pedicab, also known as a rickshaw, bugbug, cyclo, or trishaw, is a human-powered bike designed to carry passengers in addition to the driver. Cities such as London, Amsterdam, Rome, Beijing and Moscow have thriving pedicab scenes, as do the U.S. cities of Boston, San Diego, and Orlando among others.
Rosa has lived here for two years, but before that he ran his pedicab business for a year in San Diego. He started out working for another company, but he and a friend decided to start their own company together. They bought one pedicab and between him and his partners, they were able make enough money to get through school. It was the perfect enterprise for a student, because there wasn’t a set schedule, and most of the work was done in the summer.
“It’s only as difficult as you make it,” says Rosa of his experience in San Diego. “You can really get burned out at the end of the ride.” Luckily, Minneapolis has a lot fewer hills so practically, a driver take more trips without getting completely worn out.
According to Rosa, the clientele for pedicab rides is generally young professionals who want something fun to do. Typically the rides are only a few blocks. The pedicab driver can provide ideas for the riders about where to go. “I honestly think the people we were competing with were Nike and Adidas and a good pair of walking shoes,” says Rosa.
Rosa feels that there is a lot that’s inviting about Minneapolis to a pedicab business. Down by the lakes, segways and horse carriage rides are a frequent occurrence.
A few pedicab businesses already operate in the Twin Cities. Pedicabs are not the most lucrative endeavor a business person could invest in, but they may be one of the most fun. Steven Audette, who owns Como Pedicab, says, “It’s a hobby at best, and I’ve probably lost more money than I’ve made, but it keeps the doctor off my back.”
Rising gas prices also provide incentive for a pedicab entrepreneur. And the upcoming Republican National Convention promises an extra boost of tourists. Paul Selcke, who owns Cycle Seven, a company that rents out “conference bikes”, which are operated by seven people, writes in his blog: “Someone from the Republican National Committee contacted me last week and inquired about the use of the bike around Minneapolis and St. Paul when Republicans gather for the convention. They want to ‘do something green.’”
Minneapolis’s current rules on pedicabs restrict business activity after ten o’clock p.m. that’s a deal-breaker for Rosa. “It’s slowed me down,” says Rosa. Not only can pedicab drivers not drive after ten, they can’t pedal downtown between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Unlike Saint Paul, which doesn’t have any regulations for pedicabs, Minneapolis requires a $200 licensing fee, insurance, which costs up to $1500 per bike, and an equipment inspection by the city. Also, the laws about whether pedicabs are allowed to be in the bike lanes are unclear.
Proposal to Update Minneapolis Pedicab Laws
Rosa has found an ally in Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schiff. Schiff says that the last time the law was looked at in Minneapolis was in 1984. A public hearing on updating pedicab regulations is scheduled for July 16.
Minneapolis isn’t the only city in the world that is not pedicab friendly. They are banned completely in Bangkok and from the “strip” in Las Vegas. In New Delhi, the supreme court banned pedicab driving in the neighborhood of Chandri Chowk, an action which has since been challenged by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
Last year, New York City proposed a bill limiting the number of pedicabs to 375, eliminating about 175. The bill, which was backed by Broadway businesses and taxicab companies, also proposed banning pedicabs from bike lanes and bridges, and from Midtown during the Christmas season. At the last minute, Mayor Bloomberg vetoed the bill.
Minneapolis doesn’t face such heavy restrictions. Gary Schiff says the main priority is to change time restrictions so that pedicab drivers like Koa Rosa can run their business past ten o’clock. Possibly, the change in the law will encourage more pedicab entrepreneurs to set up shop in this city.
Jul
10
BLOOMY EYES SCHWINN-DIG
July 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
OPEN TO BIKE-SHARING
By Sally Goldenberg - NY Post
Mayor Bloomberg gave Paris’ bike-sharing program a thumbs-down last September, but is now reconsidering.
Mayor Bloomberg is considering bringing a bike-sharing program to the city, despite his doubts last year that such an initiative - modeled after popular ones in Paris, Barcelona and Stockholm - would work in the Big Apple.
The city Department of Transportation announced yesterday it is looking for companies to submit ideas for establishing a program in which the city would set up a network of bike stations near transportation hubs.
Residents would be able to rent the bikes at a nominal cost from one spot, and return them at their destinations.
The idea - part of Bloomberg’s plan to make the city greener and leaner - is not intended for long, pleasure rides, but rather to encourage commuters to cycle to work. Bloomberg was introduced to a similar program when he visited Paris in September.
At the time, he voiced fears about bike theft, lack of available lanes, bad weather and the possibility commuters would not want to bring helmets to work.
His spokesman, Jason Post, yesterday emphasized the mayor is only seeking ideas and input, and has not committed to a bike-sharing plan.
But city Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, who cycles to work each day, was thrilled with the idea.
“New York is a world-class city for biking,” she said.
Ultimately, she wants to triple the city’s bike usage by 2020. Currently, about 1 percent of commuter trips are made by cycling, according to the DOT.
Sadik-Khan said the number of New Yorkers commuting by bike has risen 77 percent since 2000, due to more bike lanes and the distribution of free helmets.
The Parisian program Bloomberg observed allows customers to rent bikes that are parked along streets after securing a daily or yearly membership.
Jul
10
It’s NYPD Green
July 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The NYPD unveiled yesterday its new fleet of energy-efficient vehicles.
By David Seifman - NY Post
New York City
The men and women in blue are going green.
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday unveiled the first of 20 hybrid SUVs to be used in a pilot project by the Police and Fire departments as part of a broader effort to cut gas consumption citywide.
The hybrid version of the GMC Yukon 1500 gets 20 mpg, about 25 percent better than the all-gasoline model.
Also being tested for the NYPD fleet are:
* Four all-electric Vectrix scooters capable of going up to 55 miles on a single charge.
* A three-wheeled transporter that can reach speeds up to 25 mph and run three to four hours between charges. Each can carry a single standing cop, much like a two-wheeled Segway.
“Every little bit counts,” said Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler. “These cars will be [traveling] 25,000 miles on the road each year. That will save $3,000 in gas costs when gas is $4.50.”
He explained that might not seem like much “except if you have 1,000 of these, that’s $3 million. If you have 10,000 that’s $30 million. The city has 27,000 cars. Because we’re so big, because of economies of scale, these things really pay off.”
The city government’s gas tab hit $103.7 million in fiscal 2008 - an increase of 36 percent from 2007. Besides revamping the fleets, officials hope to save on gas by installing tracking devices to reduce mileage by 3 to 5 percent; introducing anti-idling technologies with automatic vehicle shut-downs; and forcing agencies to make do with fewer vehicles.
In a bit of forward thinking, the city placed a large order with Toyota for Priuses for its non-emergency fleet long before the nationwide run began on the popular hybrids. Unfortunately, many cabbies weren’t as prescient and are now having a tough time replacing their gas-guzzlers.
Meanwhile, there was some grim news on the city’s energy bill: It’ll hit $1 billion this year for the first time.
Bloomberg noted that the city government accounts for 6.5 percent of all the electricity, natural gas and heating oil used in buildings throughout the five boroughs.
Skyler said the city’s energy tab has doubled from $500 million in 2003 to a projected $1 billion this fiscal year.
The city has committed to cutting energy usage in its properties by 30 percent by 2017.
Jul
10
A British Town’s Attempt to Kick the Oil Habit
July 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
By Nancy Durham - CBC News
Totnes, England
Yes, we have some bananas, but Ben Watson sells more regional cheeses at his grown-local shop near Totnes. (Nancy Durham/CBC)
Two years ago, British teacher and permaculturist Rob Hopkins came up with a plan. He wanted to help communities prepare for the eventuality of a world without oil. That’s how the concept of Transition Towns was born.
The key to his initiative is sustainability at the local level — whether it’s to do with food, transport, building materials or energy resources. Hopkins believes success in those areas will make a town more independent and resilient and prepare it for the day when the tap is turned off and there is no food delivery because the trucks are running on empty.
Totnes, in Devon county in England’s southwest, is the world’s first Transition Town. It has long been known as a “laboratory town” — willing to experiment with unconventional lifestyles — and still has a bit of the 1960s hippie feel about it.
“It feels more like a party than a protest march,” Hopkins, 40, says of the transition initiative. Rather than focusing on the hardship of life after oil, Hopkins says he sees “the potential for an economic social and cultural renaissance the likes of which we’ve never seen before”.
Totnes rickshaws
One believer is businessman Peter Ryeland. When his building company went bust in the late 1990s, he went on a life-changing journey to India and reinvented himself as an importer of Indian goods. The most interesting object he’s brought to Totnes is the motorized rickshaw. He owns two of the vehicles, running them on recycled cooking oil. His dream is to turn them into a local taxi service.
Driver Lizzy Hyde takes rickshaw owner Peter Ryeland and reporter Nancy Durham for a ride around Totnes, Devon. (Kyla Pearson/CBC)
Ryeland knows his rickshaw project is not the solution to the town’s transport problems, but he hopes it will inspire people to get involved in making the transition away from oil dependence. However, he has yet to get his taxi licence, which is proving as elusive as an insurance policy for the vehicle.
When I referred to his rickshaw as a toy, the good-natured Ryeland quipped, “It’s not a toy. This is the transport of the future, madam, because I’ve only got three wheels. It’s more sustainable because I burn less rubber than you!”
And what about the, ahem, carbon footprint cost of delivery from India?
“Okay, that’s the bad thing, that we’ve got to stick these things on a ship and get them over here,” Ryeland admits. “But apart from that, if you think about it, the vehicle is just run locally in the local community. This thing isn’t designed to get somebody up to London.”
Shared gardens
Hopkins’s renaissance has also produced a shared garden scheme. Say you’re a garden owner, but you don’t have time to weed. Enter a volunteer who gets free produce in exchange for labour.
Teams of transition townies have planted dozens of almond and walnut trees.
“It’s not the idea that we can feed the entire 8,000 [member] population of Totnes on nuts,” Hopkins says. “But you can produce more carbohydrate and protein per hectare than you can with any grains.”
Hopkins is not a fan of turning urban tracts of land “into just totally pointless, useless, ornamental, landscapes.”
“So the idea of the nut tree plantings is to start to put back into our unloved urban corners something which is useful, something which is productive,” he says.
The banana dilemma
Another supporter of the transition initiative is the Watson family, owners of Riverford Farm. They have produced organic food for 20 years, long before it was on the average consumer’s radar.
Ben Watson, in charge of the farm shops, strives to be as local as possible, promoting the area’s cheese makers and fruit and vegetable growers. He is meticulous. When I spot a packet of English-made Dove’s flour, what seems to me to be a good local example, he hesitates.
Rob Hopkins, British-based founder of the transition town movement. (Nancy Durham/CBC)
“That’s Wiltshire,” he says. “I don’t really call it local.” Wiltshire is only a couple of hours’ drive away.
He’s careful to stock chocolate from the European continent only when it’s all made in one location. Some manufacturers, he says, “ship it all over the place” to get it made.
But Watson’s learned he cannot be as local as he’d like. “I swore I’d never sell a banana because I thought I should be sourcing local food,” he says.
He found that if he didn’t supply the bananas, shoppers would go elsewhere. “People don’t want to go to five shops to get their meal.”
So, bananas and coconuts are available alongside a variety of herbs and a wide range of local fruits, vegetables, baked goods and cheeses in Watson’s shops. Consumers who order fruits and vegetables for home delivery get a note along with their produce, letting them know the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the process of getting the food to their door.
Canadian towns
The transition initiative is catching on. There are dozens of transition towns on the go, mostly in the British Isles, with a sprinkling in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Towns, cities and neighbourhoods merely considering taking up the transition challenge are called mullers — as in mulling it over — and Canadians show a certain level of keenness, with a total of 27 official muller sites in Canada. The communities are diverse, from Ulverton in Quebec’s Eastern Townships to River John, N.S. (its website calls it “a small community with a big spirit”).
In Ontario, Fred Irwin founded Peterborough’s mulling group. As a retired businessman who also worked in the oil industry, Irwin read about Hopkins’s transition project and was inspired.
“I was part of the problem; now, I’m part of the solution,” he says. “The public looks at you as tree huggers — until you talk about peak oil.”
But Irwin does run into opposition. “A guy in the local chamber of commerce told me, ‘If you think I’m going green, you’re crazy!’”
He is realistic about the challenges ahead. “A person selling a Hummer doesn’t want to hear about a shortage of gas, so you have to go to the businesses that are facing the future now,” he says.
Still, Irwin is seizing the moment.
“It’s a very a propos time for us to launch TTP [Transition Town Peterborough] because there is a lot of awareness,” he said. “People are seeing food prices rise and gas prices rise, and that hits them in the pocket book, so it’s easier for us to get their attention.”
British Columbia wins for enthusiasm — nearly half of Canada’s muller sites are located there. Chris Alemany sees the transition initiative as a natural for his hometown of Port Alberni.
“We already have a great farmers’ market and agricultural base here that are supplying the valley with food, so it will be about bringing these and other groups together,” Alemany says.
‘A wartime mobilization’
Back in Totnes, Rob Hopkins remains determined to win people over with upbeat ideas.
“It’s about unleashing that potential [for the renaissance], and you don’t do that by trying to depress everyone into action,” he says.
“It’s about feeling part of something historic, something timely … I often liken where we are now to 1939. It’s like a wartime mobilization. Scale of response is what we need to get through this process.”
Jul
10
Taj Mahal Vicinity to be Kept Free From Vehicles
July 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Agra, India - News Track India
The next time you visit Agra to view the Taj Mahal, don’t mind if you have to walk half-a-kilometer distance for gaining entry. Authorities of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have barred vehicles from getting close to the portals of the Taj. The latest step has been taken following the Supreme Court’s directives to protect white-marbled historical monument from pollution.
Barricades have been put in place 500 metres from the main entrance to prevent traffic.
Even Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-run vehicles and cycle rickshaws have been disallowed to get close to the main gate.
Though taken in the larger interest of safeguarding the eloquence of world famous Taj Mahal, the new arrangement is causing a bit of inconvenience to many visitors. They have to walk nearly half a kilometers to reach the monument of love that was recently enlisted as the 7th Wonder of the World by UNESCO.
“It is difficult to get in as we have to walk down half a kilometre in such s hot weather. I was very tired and I think it’s better if the auto-rickshaws and bicycle-rickshaws are allowed,” said Tomokoyoto, a Japanese tourist.
Pollution has been a matter of concern and also its security aspect, a fact that has compelled the authorities to restrict vehicles from nearing the Taj Mahal.
But among the most affected are the auto-rickshaw drivers, who question the step that prevents even their CNG-run vehicles, which do not pollute the environment.
“The main reason for restriction was that petrol-run vehicles cause pollution. But why the CNG-run vehicles are being made to suffer for them?,” said Munna Lal, one auto rickshaw driver.
The only exception to the restricted area is the labeled vehicles.
The Regional Traffic Office has issued permission only to those people who have been living around the monument for many years. This permit sticker is stuck on their vehicle which allows them entry near the gate.
“According to the Supreme Court, there is no objection for non-polluting vehicles. Pollution is no doubt the main cause but traffic control is another matter of concern. If we allow CNG auto rickshaws, all of them will move towards Taj Mahal which will cause chaos and controlling them would be difficult. So this rule is only for the people staying around that area,” said Sonkiya, an official of the Regional Transport Office.
The analytical figures from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have alarmed conservationists and environmentalists here who have demanded concrete measures to control heavy traffic movement in and around the Taj Mahal.
It has been noticed that the suspended particulate matter (SPM) level in the atmosphere too has gone up alarmingly because of the dry Yamuna riverbed and mining activity along the Aravali range in Bharatpur District of the neighbouring Rajasthan. By Brajesh Kr. Singh (ANI)
Jul
10
Pedicabs — Aspen’s Latest in Transit
July 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
By Janet Urquhart - Aspen Times
Aspen, Colorado
Pedicab drivers Brian Rod, left, and Luke Cunningham, both of Denver, await riders Wednesday on the grounds of The Aspen Institute.Paul Conrad/The Aspen Times
Pedal power is hardly a new means of getting around Aspen, but the town’s latest in public transportation lets someone else do all the work.
A fleet of pedicabs — bicycling’s answer to the rickshaw — recently made its debut downtown. This week, pedicab drivers — mainly fit, young men — are ferrying Aspen Ideas Festival attendees between downtown hotels and the festival venue at The Aspen Institute in the West End. Passengers are getting a free ride around the Institute campus or just about anywhere else they need to go — unless they’re staying at a mansion on Red Mountain. Even pedicab drivers have their limits.
The fleet is the brainchild of Jay Mills, owner of Denver-based Jay’s Valet Parking and Luxury Shuttle Services, which has been doing business in Aspen since 1991. The pedicabs debuted last month at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic and Mills is launching a similar service in downtown Denver, as well.
He plans to keep six of the three-wheeled vehicles in Aspen for the summer and hopes to arrange winter service as weather permits (the carriages will be fitted with ski racks and carry blankets).
Routes and hubs where the pedicabs can be found when drivers are waiting for a rider are yet to be finalized, but the service will naturally look to use streets that have the least incline.
“We don’t want people to feel like, ‘God, I just killed a pedicab driver,’” Mills said.
The business plan is a work in progress, Mills admitted, but the reception from pedestrians-turned-passengers looking to get from here to there is encouraging.
Riders applaud the service, confirm the drivers who are shuttling Ideas Festival participants the 15-or-so blocks between the downtown core and the Institute. It’s a relaxing jaunt — for those who aren’t doing the pedaling.
“I think, just from yesterday, I gained muscle mass in my legs,” said driver Brian Rad as he plied the West End on Wednesday morning. “I’m a pretty big cyclist, but I had no idea what was in store for me.”
Among the driver pool were reports of pedicabbies who logged 50 to 60 rides on Tuesday — the first full day of the festival. And one reportedly lugged three adults and two children around in the carriage, which comfortably sits two average adults (or three thin ones).
The 21-speed pedicabs weigh 180 or so pounds. Add a couple of adult passengers and the job is definitely taxing, said Mills, who carted a couple of his colleagues around the Institute campus Tuesday just to get a feel for it.
“It made me realize how out of shape I really am,” he said.
In town, pedestrians may not realize they can hail one of the pedicabs for a free ride, but people are starting to catch on. Some travel only a block or two, stepping into the carriage for a ride from the supermarket, laden with groceries, to their condo, for example, said driver Nate Josich. He is among the employees Mills brought up from Denver to work the festival this week.
Even tourists who aren’t taking a ride are apparently fascinated with the latest in environmentally friendly conveyance.
“I’ve had more people taking pictures of me than I’ve had riding,” said driver Adam Evans.
For Food & Wine, and now the Ideas Festival, sponsors of the pedicab service — it’s Chevron this week — allow Mills to pay the drivers wages. They also collect tips.
For the regular summer service though, drivers will depend solely on tips. The cost of insurance and the purchase of the pedicabs will constitute Mills’ investment in the venture. Turning a profit isn’t likely in the near term, he conceded.
“I haven’t quite figured out all the logistics, honestly,” he said.
But, Mills envisions a service that not only offers transport to a particular destination, but also provides sightseeing tours through places like the West End. He’s hoping drivers will learn a bit about local history and share tidbits with their passengers despite the motto on the back of their T-shirts: “You do the talking. I’ll do the pedaling.”
Jul
8
Offering a Carbon-Free Way to Get Around
July 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
By Fran Silverman - New York Times
West Hartford, Connecticut
Karen Denaro and Rebekah Marshall were lost. The two friends had finished poking through the shops and restaurants at Blue Back Square one recent Saturday and wanted to check out the retail on another street, LaSalle Road. But they had no idea where it was, and with temperatures climbing past 80 degrees, the search for it was quickly becoming a passing thought. Then David St. Germain cycled over in a yellow rickshaw and offered them a ride. Within minutes they were where they wanted to be.
Mr. St. Germain is the first to take advantage of the town’s ordinance allowing pedicabs to operate regularly in the community. West Hartford, a town that likes to be out front on all things green, is the first in the state to approve such a law.
Scott Slifka, West Hartford’s mayor, said the pedal cabs are part of a community effort to promote alternative forms of transportation and reduce traffic in the center of town. The town has added new bicycle stalls as well.
“We are trying to encourage people to use the bike instead of a car, and pedicabs are an outgrowth of that issue, of our carbon footprint,” said Mr. Slifka, 34, a cycling enthusiast himself. “We are trying to be on the forefront.”
Mr. St. Germain runs a loop that connects Blue Back Square’s 600,000-square-foot retail complex to the town’s traditional Main Street shops — or he’ll take customers elsewhere downtown.
An elementary school librarian, Mr. St. Germain started making daily runs with his British hand-built Cycles Maximus rickshaw at the end of June. Instead of charging fares, Mr. St. Germain works for tips.
“I think this makes the town look good,” said Mr. St. Germain, 43, who invested more than $20,000 in three cabs for his TreeHugger Taxis fleet and plans to rent the others to drivers. “They are clean vehicles, it’s a fun thing and it will attract people to town.”
Some days are easier than others in this affluent, trendy suburb of Hartford. On the upside, Mr. St. Germain said he had already lost 12 pounds from cycling and in one day recently he earned more than $100 in tips.
As the price of gas goes up, more people have demanded his service, and his costs stay the same while operators of other motorized vehicles or modes of transportation are feeling the pinch.
But running a pedicab alone is not easy work. On really hot days Mr. St. Germain has to drink seven bottles of water to stay hydrated. Oh, and the town is quite hilly. And inevitably, there are the slow days.
One weekend day, Mr. St. Germain was having a tough time convincing shoppers to take a ride. Many were lingering on wooden chairs and benches outside the stores in Blue Back Square, sipping icy drinks and hoping to catch a breeze. Some smiled and seemed quizzical as he approached them. Others looked leery.
“Are you looking for a ride?” Mr. St. Germain called to a couple who had stopped to look at a map of town posted near the West Hartford Library, a favorite spot to idle his bike. They shook him off.
He looked next toward two women across the street who were relaxing in outdoor rocking chairs.
“It’s free,” he called to them.
They stayed seated, eventually getting up and walking past him on their way to their next destination.
“Lucky I’m not relying on this,” said Mr. St. Germain, a soft-sell kind of guy. “My school librarian money pays the bills.”
To help finance the fleet, Mr. St. Germain rents advertising space on the back of his cabs for about $150 a week.
Pedicab services have popped up in more communities across the nation in recent years, including Seattle, Portland, Ore., and in Manhattan, with varied success.
Anne I. Hayes, president of the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance and director of parking and mass transit for the Travelers Companies, said more towns should promote the pedal cabs.
“I think it’s a great concept,” Ms. Hayes said. “Any human-powered transportation that reduces gas consumption and problems related to climate change should be included as part of the mix.”
Jul
8
Plans for Rickshaw Service Stalls in Bloomington
July 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Bloomington, Indiana - Associated Press
Plans for a rickshaw service that would give visitors a new way to see Bloomington’s sights have stalled because officials aren’t sure how to regulate open-air taxis.
Chris Waggoner, an Indiana University graduate, came up with the idea of his rickshaw pedicab company, Fresh Air Taxis, after a brief stay in Scotland, where he earned extra money by working as a rickshaw driver in Edinburgh.
He sees the bicycle-powered rickshaws as a fun, efficient way to tour Indiana University’s campus and Bloomington’s downtown attractions.
If everything goes well in Bloomington, Waggoner hopes to start similar businesses in other Indiana cities, with Nashville being the next stop.
But the idea is on hold because the city has yet to give him a permit to operate.
Bloomington has no city codes covering open-air taxis, which presents a problem for how to regulate the company.
City officials held meetings last week to try to come up with a decision on Fresh Air Taxis’ future, but no decision was reached, and city officials have scheduled another round of meetings with Waggoner. The city council is set to review the issue sometime in the fall.
The city isn’t trying to hold up Waggoner’s plan, said Adam Wason, Bloomington’s assistant director of economic development for small business and sustainable development. Instead, it’s just trying to be certain that the business is safe, he said.
Wason also said there are liability issues with pedicabs.
“Who is going to regulate it, and how do you inspect it to make sure it is safe?” Wason asked. “… We have to make sure that the city is not held liable in the case of an accident.”
Waggoner, who built his rickshaw by hand, says liability should not be an issue since he has $1 million worth of liability insurance through ISU Westlake.
“Taxi cabs have permits, and they get in accidents and the city does not get sued,” he said. “The mayor is on board; we are just waiting on the city attorney.”
Waggoner said there have been a total of five accidents involving pedicabs in the U.S. in the past 20 years. His insurance also requires that all rickshaw drivers undergo training.
Waggoner, who does the training, hopes to have between 10 and 16 rickshaw drivers trained and ready to start if the city gives him a permit.
Regardless of the Bloomington’s city council decision, Waggoner plans to pursue his rickshaw business in Nashville later this year.
“Nashville is more receptive to the idea,” said Waggoner. “They have been much easier to deal with,” he said.