Pedicab Taxi Business News From the Web
Pedicab business hopes to
offer taxi alternative
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor)
Pedicab rides in this town are usually taken for
leisure, for romance,
or both. But 33 year-old entrepreneur Jonathan
Magnus hopes his new
pedicab business will go beyond this “spur of the
moment” transportation.
The southeast Portland resident and father of four,
is about to launch
PDX Pedicab.
Magnus, who formerly worked as a communications
engineer, moved to
Portland five years ago. While out for an evening
downtown, he noticed
a lack of human-powered transportation options and
thought pedicabs
would be, “a perfect way to move people around
downtown.”
When he got home that night he searched the web and
didn’t find
anything (he later came across Casey Martell’s Rose
Pedals Pedicab
service and has since contacted him for advice), so
he lined up investors
and put together a business plan.
That was back in January.
Now, Magnus is set to have his first pedicab
operators on the ground
(just for training and testing) this weekend. By
mid-August, he plans
to have his bright orange pedicabs officially
available for business.
Magnus will start with two pedicabs and hopes to
have ten by the end
of summer. Eventually, if things go as planned, he
thinks Portland can
sustain 15-20 pedicabs.
Even with such a large fleet, Magnus says he’s not
looking to compete
with taxicabs.
“I’d like to work in conjunction with taxis. The
truth
is that a lot of the rides we’ll provide are ones
that taxis wouldn’t
be interested in. We’ll specialize in shorter, four
block rides, which
will free them up for the longer routes and larger
fares.”
Magnus will employ a high-tech GPS system to help
his drivers be
more efficient. Using Nextel phones and a fully
integrated GPS system,
his dispatcher will be able to track the whereabouts
of all the
pedicabs at all times. When a call comes in to (503)
PEDICAB, the
dispatcher will send a text message to the closest
driver and a
detailed map of the next pick-up will appear on
their handlebar-mounted
screen.
These new pedicabs might raise concerns from traffic
cops and
regulatory offices. Magnus is ready for that and he
hopes to be
proactive in working with the city to make pedicabs
an official part of
the transportation mix. He says he’d even work with
the city to
consider a licensing program if necessary.
So far, the reception to his bright orange pedicabs
has been very positive,
“We’ve been out several times and people are always
really into it. It’s a great business because you
get to perform a
much-needed service and at the same time take a
stance about an
ecologically friendly transportation alternative.”
Pedicabs
business is on an up cycle
Denver Business Journal - by Noelle Leavitt
Denver Business Journal
While debate rages over taxicab regulation in Denver
and with the
Democratic National Convention coming next year,
there's a small
segment of the transportation industry trying to
fill the gap.
Pedicabs -- the city and county of Denver calls them
"pedal cabs"
-- are servicing short-distant trips that taxi
drivers don't find lucrative.
Some taxicab drivers won't service short-distant
trips because the
fares, which often net $10 or less, don't cover the
bills. In some
cases, taxi drivers pay up to $600 a week to rent
cabs from Yellow Cab,
Freedom Cab and Metro Taxi. Long-trip destinations
to Denver International
Airport generate more revenue.
Pedicab drivers pay around $125 per week for their
three-wheeled vehicles,
and don't have fuel expenses.
"There's nothing that can fill the gap we fill,
which is the short trips," said
Gregg Duran, owner of Denver's Big Tree Pedicab.
The 21-speed pedicabs take customers from the 16th
Street Mall to
Five Points, Cherry Creek and the Highlands. The
typical pedicab fare
is $2 a block, but some drivers let customers decide
the fare.
"It was a really neat experience," Edna Daniel said.
She and her
husband took a ride from 16th and Lawrence streets
to the Millennium
Bridge by Union Station on June 23. "You can see
everything. It's like
a front-row seat."
In many cases, if a customer needs to go 20 miles
outside the city,
a pedicab driver will drop them at taxi stands and
hotels, giving
business to taxicab drivers.
"Not only providing transportation, we're also
providing employment in
the economy," Duran said.
In the Denver metro area, there are 120 pedicab
drivers and eight
pedicab companies licensed with the city and county
of Denver's
Department of Excise and Licenses. A business
license costs $100, and a
pedicab driver's license is $50.
Depending on the company, drivers rent pedicabs for
about $25 a day
on weekdays and $45 a day on weekends. Monthly
rentals cost up to $400.
Drivers who rent monthly said they often will make
the money back in
one day.
Independent drivers, such as Bonnie Weimer of
Prairie Dog Tricycles,
make money comparable to those who drive for
companies.
"I make about $25 an hour," Weimer said. "You
probably make more than
you would at another job."
She bought her pedicab for $1,200.
Main Street Pedicabs Inc., 1811 Upham St., Suite 9,
Broomfield, sells
pedicabs for around $1,500 to buyers nationwide.
On average, pedicab drivers make up to $28 an hour
or more --
depending on the day, hours worked and their
personalities, a key fact
in the size of their tips.
Bobby Lentell, 27, has been renting from Big Tree
Pedicabs for a
year and a half. On a recent Saturday, he made $339
during a 12-hour
shift.
"I kind of got clever," he said.
He carefully carved a stop sign out of Styrofoam
that said, "Wait
here for a pedicab." He placed it on the corner of
Larimer and 15th
streets next to an arts festival -- La Piazza
dell'Arte Italian -- in
Larimer Square, and it drew many customers.
Another part of the business is sustainability. City
officials see
pedicabs as one way to make sure there's
energy-efficient
transportation for visitors to the 2008 Democratic
National Convention.
"The whole look at transportation involves modes we
can use to help
reduce the carbon footprint," said Katherine
Archuleta, senior adviser
on policy and initiatives for Denver Mayor John
Hickenlooper.
"People rarely bring up the sustainability," said
Max Henkle, 27,
who recently left his job at Energy Environment
Corp. to become a
full-time pedicab driver. He estimates he can earn
$35,000 his first
year. "[Pedicabs] really do dispense zero vehicle
emissions and zero
vehicle carbons."
State lawmakers and an independent study group are
trying to sort
out the taxicab issue before the convention in
August 2008. They've
discussed implementing a flat fee for short-trip
fares that would give
taxi drivers incentive to service customers that
need to be transported
only a few blocks.
Pedicabs:
the new taxis?
Shahla Naimi
Contributing Reporter
Published Thursday, March 26, 2009
A mode of transportation characteristic of the Big
Apple will find a
home this summer in the Elm City: pedicabs.
Yale Cycling Team member Jongwook “Wookie” Kim ’09
plans to establish
a pedicab business.
— tricycles fashioned into carriage-like cabs — in
New Haven, an idea
born from a class project last semester in which
students were given a
$50,000 hypothetical grant to establish a business
within a mile of the
Yale campus.
Tentatively named CaBike, Kim’s proposed business,
established in
partnership with a School of Management graduate and
School of Medicine
freshman, is still in its infancy. Kim, who entered
the proposal in the
2009 Y50K Entrepreneurship Competition with its own
$50,000 grand
prize, is finalizing business plans and garnering
city support.
“After a while,” Kim said, “I realized that [my
business plan] could actually
work as a social enterprise.”
Naturally, he said, he sought out Matthew Feiner,
owner of The Devil’s Gear
Bike Shop on Chapel Street.
“I’ve been encouraging people to take up the idea of
pedicabs,”
Feiner said. “We almost bought a pedicab last year
and I’m glad we
didn’t because that was just when the economy tipped
and we had to close
the downtown shop. But I’m always supportive of
anyone who wants to do it.”
Hoping to avoid Metro Taxi’s $2.25 per mile charge
in a
faltering economy, Kim said he hoped New Haven
residents may be looking
for more affordable transportation. Pedicabs, Kim
said, can be a good
alternative. He added that he is considering a
tip-based compensation
model for CaBike.
“We aren’t trying to make lots of money,” Kim said.
“We plan to
use any profits towards the creation of a
bicycle/health education
program at Haven Free Clinic.”
But chances are they will not make a profit, said
West Hartford
resident and librarian Dave St. Germain, who
established his own
pedicab business, Tree Hugger Taxis, last year.
“It is funny to look at my business plan after a
year has gone
by,” Germain said in an e-mail. “My income
projections were so far off
base and what I expected to charge for a cab rental
was also far from
reality. It is very lucky that I did not quit my day
job.”
But Kim said there are significant differences
between his
business model and Germain’s. CaBike, for instance,
has established an
agreement with Feiner giving them free storage and
maintenance
services.
In preparation for his business model, Kim said he
did some anecdotal
research in New York, taking pedicabs on several
occasions.
“It seemed like it was being used as a sort of
novelty,” he
said. “So it’s a concern about whether or not people
would take [one]
on a regular basis.”
Kim said a preliminary survey he conducted of
approximately
2,000 New Haven residents showed wide-reaching
support for a pedicab
business.
Less than a mile away, New Haven’s Union Station
would be an ideal
hub for such a business. And city officials agree.
“We should hopefully see the bike lane to and from
union station
by the end of this year,” said Jim Travers, deputy
director of
Transportation, Traffic and Parking for New Haven.
“We are very
interested in talking to [Kim].”
Kim, who will be meeting with Travers on April 7,
said he hopes
to jump-start his business before he graduates in
May and leaves New
Haven. Although he said he understands the
difficulties of developing
and maintaining a nascent business without his
physical presence, he
hopes his team and the wide community support will
maintain the
business.
According to the Washington State Energy Office,
only 1.6 percent of
Americans commute by bicycle.
Pedicab business
launches in Salt Lake City
Pedicab driver, Tom Steed, takes two passengers for
a ride. (ABC 4 News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – There’s a new
cab service in town,
but it’s probably not what you’d expect. Stick Dog
Pedicab launched
Friday afternoon and it offered free rides to anyone
downtown.
The bicycle-cab service, started by Bret Cali,
surprised many people,
walking and driving alike, who stopped to take
photos of the pedicabs
with cameras and cell phones.
“It’s a lot of fun for a lot of people” said Tom
Steed, one of the drivers.
Cali has hired eight drivers to run the free cabs in
shifts so there are at
least two running during the afternoon and evening.
The rides are free,
so the drivers work on tips alone. The pedicabs run
around downtown
mostly between restaurants and bars.
“I don’t expect to make a living out of it.” Steed
said.
This isn’t the first time Salt Lake has seen
pedicabs. There was a pedicab
service in Salt Lake a few years ago but it stopped
service after the
owner cited insurance disputes with the city.
Hello there
You are seeing what is a very fast growing
business. There are
pedicab companies operating from Denver, Colorado,
to New York and
around the world. They are being used for
everything from personal
transportation to message delivery and freight
moving. Pedicab
companies are also earning extra cash by selling
advertising space
thus turning them into mobile billboards. If you
would like some
hints about that end of the business, take a look
here:
http://www.manhattanrickshaw.com/advertise.htm
- From Manhatttan
Rickshaw Company.
Pedicab companies are also making the news as they
make their way into
the mainstream of transportation services. You
might find this little
article interesting about a pedicab company caled "BugBugs"
located in
London, England.
http://www.workbike.org/news/bugbugswin.html
In fact, that is where I think I will start. I will
give you a list
of the names of some of the pedicab companies around
the world and
just because the name is already in use in another
country doesn't
necessarily mean it is not free for use in
Australia. I am sure there
are companies named "Acme" something or other in
just about every
English speaking country in the world, as an
example. At the same
time, I will throw in a few originals as things
strike me.
Of course, we will start with "BugBugs" - London,
England.
And then - (the name of your town) Rickshaw Company
- - taken from
"Manhattan Rickshaw Company" listed above.
Another from New York City - Pedicabs of New York
("PONY") - Now I
realize you may not have the same letters using your
town name to
create the same acronym, but you can get the idea.
I don't know if you are aiming for a passenger
service, a messenger
service or some combination, but a pedicab company
in Ames, Iowa,
simply calles itself "Bikes at Work."
"Coronado Pedicab Company" - San Diego, California
"Voyager Pedicabs" - De Pere, Wisconsin
In Gambling Magazine, I found two casinos which have
launched their
own pedicab services. They are the Sunset Station
Casino and Boulder
Station Casino. Now while they have not named their
respective
companies, per se, I just thought the connection
with the word
"station" might work as I understand "station" is an
Australian term
for 'ranch.' I could be wrong. But the names:
"Sunset Station Pedicabs" - and/or
"Boulder Station Pedicabs" - -
sort of stand out.
Or perhaps there
is a "station" in your area that has
a name that
would work. If you
are dealing with tourists from the US,
anything
named "station" should
have appeal. Just avoid naming it after
a local
marsupial, American
tourists jump around enough already.
In Santa Monica, Ca., they have instituted a 'pilot'
program for
pedicab use but have established no real name for it
yet. However the
article sparked an idea:
"Pedal Pilots" or "Pedal Pilot Pedicabs"
"Glimmerglass Pedicab Company" - Cooperstown, New
York
"Lightfoot Pedicabs" - I just came back from the
kitchen with a cup of
coffee and about tripped over the cat.
After that little dance, "lightfoot" just sort of
came to mind, though
I weigh well over 200 lbs. (no comments, please)
Though you are not really a train, you could be the
"Bike-a-boose
Pedicab Company" There is a manufacturing company
with a similar name
called "Bykaboose" here in the US.
Even your online name here could be used. Perhaps
number each cab:
"Bozoboz Pedicabs" - with cabs named Bozoboz1 -
Bozoboz2...
"Liberty Bike Works Pedicab Service" - Trenton, New
Jersey
"Victoria Pedicab Company" - Victoria, BC
"Sunshine Pedicab Company" - San Diego, California -
- - Now that
could very easily be changed to "Sunshine Station"
or even "Sun
Station" for reasons mentioned above.
If you are wanting an Asian sounding name, just
choose your favorite
Asian city and go from there. Unless you, yourself,
are Asian, I
would avoid any names which could be construed as a
racial slur.
Of course you could use your own name as the first
part of " _____
Pedicab Company"
Now you didn't ask for any tag lines to follow the
name, but a good
one would be "Save your shoes and enjoy the views"
that one is used
by the "Catalina Pedicab Company" on Catalina
Island, California.
Now as I'm going through the names, I'm finding many
simply named
after cities and states such as "Arizona Pedal Cab
Company" and
"Vancouver Pedicabs" No reason to list them all as
I'm sure you
already have the picture and probably wouldn't be
asking for help if
it were just that simple.
"Pedi-voyagers"
"Pedi-gawkers"
"Pedi-express" - if your company will be engaging in
the message and
delivery business rather than tourists and
passengers.
"Keep-me-fit Pedicab Company" - - the customers will
be doing you a
favor. If they don't ride all your muscles will
atrophy.
"Bike-browsers"
"Bike Bums Pedi-tours"
"Gaslamp Pedicabs" - Sort of suggestive of a more
sedate bygone era.
"Pedi-dreams" - if you are offering those romantic
sunset and evening
rides.
There you have it in the words
of others. Pedicab IS a fast growing eco-friendly
business and will continue to grow as the public and
municipalities in general
become more environmentally conscious.
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