With the help of a new city law, “Rick Shaw” may soon be pedaling people around the city on a tricycle built for three.
Fair Haven Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale has submitted legislation that would legalize the operation of pedicabs — bicycle taxis — in downtown New Haven. Cycling enthusiast Paul Hammer, who hopes to be one of the city’s new bike-taxi drivers, plans to use the nom de guerre of “Rick Shaw,” after the Asian name for the three-wheeled vehicles.
Sturgis-Pascale’s proposed ordinance amendment, which she submitted at the Sept. 8 meeting of the Board of Aldermen, would create a framework for pedicabs to operate on city streets. The legislation would limit the number of cabs to 10, create a licensing and registration process for pedicabs, and ensure that cabbies have a driver’s license and a clean driving record. Drivers would have to have their fingerprints and a home address on file with the city.
The legislation will come before the City Services and Environmental Policy Committee in advance of a full vote by the Board of Aldermen. Click here to read a draft of the bill.
Sturgis-Pascale said that she was motivated to propose the legislation by local pedicab enthusiasts, by the success of pedicab operations in nearby cities, and by the environmental benefits of human-powered transportation.
Pedicabs are in use in West Hartford and in Milford. Sturgis-Pascale envisions that they would be most useful for short trips around downtown, especially from the train station.
Riders would be attracted to pedicabs because of “the novelty of it,” she predicted. “Also the sustainability aspect of it.”
“I see transportation as the next frontier for taking responsibility for your environmental impact,” Sturgis-Pascale said. It may still be “fringy to ride your bike to work,” she said, but pedicabs would help to raise awareness and acceptance of getting around by bike.
The alderwoman said she hopes the board will pass the legislation by December so that holiday shoppers can go from store to store by bike taxi. “That would be really nice,” she said.
Thanks But No Thanks?
Joe Meade, proprietor of Milford Pedicab, said his company has four pedicabs in operation in Milford. His business is run largely off of revenue from advertisements on the sides of the pedicabs. There are no set fares; customers pay whatever they wish. “It’s really more of an entertainment than it is a livery service,” he said.
Meade said that he has an eye on expanding into New Haven. But he expressed some skepticism about a new pedicab ordinance.
“For us, regulation is just an obstacle,” he said. He expressed concern that an ordinance might mean more bureaucracy for pedicab operators. “In Milford all they want to know is if you have insurance.”
Meade said that he plans to wait and see what happens with the New Haven ordinance before rolling his pedicabs into the city. “We want to see how that unfolds,” he said.
Along with Yale medical student John Binford, Paul Hammer hopes to open a pedicab operation called Cabike. Hammer said that although he could legally begin his company without an ordinance in place, he hopes that legislation will ensure “cordial relations with taxis” and divert other possible controversies before they start.
Hammer, who occasionally drives for Milford Pedicab, said that a taxi driver at the Milford train station had confronted him angrily. “One cabbie said, ‘You’re stealing our business!’ My response was, ‘Hey why don’t you come drive a pedicab?’”
Hammer said that he anticipates cordial relations between pedicabs and regular taxis in New Haven. “None of use want to take anyone’s livelihood away … I think we’ll get along.”
Hammer said that he envisions a pedicab stand at the train station alongside the stand for car cabs. He said that the Devil’s Gear Bike Shop has offered to maintain and store the pedicabs.
“I think New Haven could ultimately support maybe two dozen pedicabs,” Hammer said.
When I was hauled around Shanghai many years ago a rickshaw was a two-wheeled vehicle powered by two feet, not mine, belonging to young Chinese who must have been in great condition as they never seemed to tire,
Saying the local bike- guy-powered vehicle or its power source is a rickshaw may not be kosher, but who cares?