Having been on the road working pedicab events in Washington DC, and Tampa, FL. I have seen how local regulations, physical environment, and patron familiarity can make being a professional pedicab driver very difficult.

In Washington DC, there are no regulations in place to govern the local pedicab industry.  There are also dozens of different Automobile Taxi companies.  There are currently 2 pedicab companies that operate on a regular basis in the city.  They have about 30 cabs total that are normally in the city.  Ben, the owner of National Pedicab was present for our  meeting with Mayor Fenty.  He hoped to speak briefly with the mayor to discuss regulating pedicabs in the DC area.

In the short lived environment of the Inauguration, we were appreciated by our patrons, and I heard no stories of riders getting hassled by the local police, secret service, or any of the military police that were on hand to control the crowds.  The park police near the national malls and monuments had a some words with a few riders. Most of us made pretty good money on the busy days (Jan 18th, 19th, and 20th).  The Austin riders were too ambitious with our schedule.  While on paper it looked like there would be many events to work in the 7+ days preceding the Inauguration, as it turns out the cold, the high availability of local auto taxis, and the local DC population not being familiar with pedicabs, reduced the number of patrons willing to use our services on the other days we were in the city.

After Washington DC, the Austin pedicab crew traveled to Tampa for the Superbowl.  In short, Tampa is a regulation nightmare.  It is a large city with a lot of party goers.  There are many patrons wanting to travel between the two nearby entertainment districts.  There is also a NFL football stadium that near by that could benefit from improved transportation services.  Part of the nightmare comes in that pedicabs are only allowed to operate in the Ybor city area of Tampa.  Ybor city is a district not too dissimilar to Bourbon Street, or East 6th Street in Austin.  We could legally operate in an approximately 10 block by 10 block area.  The vast majority of this area did not have the need of our services.  It became clear to the pedicab operators on the ground that our services were needed elsewhere.

The sad thing about Tampa is that there has been a pedicab company operating in the city for more than 15 years.  Even after being involved with the local community for so long, the 7 cabs that are operated by Retrostar pedicab can still only legally operate in the very small and not very lucrative Ybor city area.  I hope that pedicabs become more welcome in the Channelside district, and Downtown Tampa.  If this were to occur, I would expect that the number of pedicabs that the local economy could support would increase.

The other part of the nightmare in dealing with the city of Tampa is that they did not even know what they needed us to do in order to operate legally.  As soon as one hurdle was completed, there was another that had to be overcome.  We jumped when they said jump, we paid a great deal in taxes and application fees.  Getting set up to operate legally in Tampa will likely take approximately 4 months on a normal basis.  We were able to get all the licenses that the city required, but only by the skin of our teeth.  As it turns out we were likely more in compliance with local regulation than the local pedicab company.

The following article is yet another example of how and unregulated pedicab business can be shutdown when it comes to the attention of the local authorities.  After having been in operation for 4 years the they had not worked with the city to create a regulatory environment that allowed their business to continue operating profitably and legally.  While I have never been involved in creating, crafting, or trying to influence local regulations, It is clear to me that in order for any pedicab business to thrive, having a generous regulatory environment is essential.  This is work that must be done if you plan on keeping your business operating in the long term.

Article is taken from:

http://philly.metro.us/metro/local/article/Pedicab_Chariots_put_on_ice/14984.html

Pedicab ‘Chariots’ put on ice

by brian x. mccrone / metro philadelphia

FEB 4, 2009

PHILADELPHIA. Ben Dambman got the idea for starting a pedicab company in Manayunk during an eight-month stay at his brother’s apartment in southern Florida.

When he returned to Philadelphia in 2003 and realized not a single one of the unusual vehicles operated within city limits, he quickly got a business license and starting shuttling people around Main Street.

“He sold his car to get a couple of them,” said Ben’s brother, Tom Dambman, who later returned to Philadelphia to help his brother run the company, Chariots of Philly. “Philly is one of the only major cities that don’t have them.”

But after four years and hundreds of pedicab rides in Manayunk later, Philadelphia is again one of the only cities without them.

The city in October 2006 forced the Dambmans off the street after officials with the Department of Licenses and Inspections decided that there was no ordinance regulating pedicabs and ordered them to cease running the business, the Dambmans said.

“They actually impounded one of the pedicabs,” Tom Dambman said. “At that point, we were told we could not operate because no ordinance was in place.”

The problem arose after the Dambmans brought their four pedicabs to South Philadelphia for a couple of Eagles games in 2007 in hopes of expanding their business outside Manayunk.

“We don’t know who filed a complaint but it must have been someone important,” Tom Dambman said. Chariots of Philly have since taken their pedicabs to the Jersey Shore, where they operate during the summers in Avalon.

“It’s not regulated or anything but they’re happy we’re down there,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the city was unable to track down information about the business yesterday.