This is a short movie filmed in India, and contains pro-feminist themes. It also has some nice footage of the modern Indian made pedicabs in action.

Pedicab drivers are in it for the money. Have no doubt about that. While we may like all of the benefits that go along with our occupation, we would not do the work if it we were not paid.

Getting a fare is more than about being in the right place at the right time. If you find a location that has potential customers passing by, you then have to present a more attractive option than what they are considering or currently doing. The other options are generally walking or taking a taxi.

In my experience the most common concerns that potential customers have when deciding whether or not to ride a pedicab include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Do I like the look of this pedicab driver?
2. Do I like the look of this vehicle?
3. Will I have a good time?
4. Will I be safe?
5. Can I get to my destination quickly?
6. Do I have enough cash?
7. Will I be embarrassed to ride a pedicab?
8. Is my destination too close / too far / too steep?
9. Will I pay a fair price for the service(s) offered?
10. Will my fellow passenger(s) enjoy the ride?

Each of these are complex decisions that a potential customers must make when determining if they will take a ride from you. Maximizing your income will have a great deal to do with helping your customer feel confident that each of these and any other concern they may have will be alleviated.

1. Do I like the look if this pedicab driver?
Sometimes I think female pedicab drivers have a distinct advantage in alleviating this concern. This may just be my male prejudices at work, but women tend to be well groomed, and less stinky. They also tend to be cuter. But I imagine that female customers may tend to enjoy male drivers for the similar reasons. None the less, appearing tidy, not stinking to high heaven, having situationally appropriate and non-intimidating attire, presenting yourself as having a positive mood that will improve your customers situation all go a long way toward helping your customer feel good about you as a service provider.

2. Do I like the look of this vehicle?
David Lettermen is infamously quoted as saying:

“Don’t get in those things. Those things are dangerous. For people around the country, these are like folks who bought old bicycles, and just hammered a milk crate on to them, and are driving people up and down the streets.“

First impressions are a lasting. I tend to think that a pedicab should be clean and tidy, it’s upholstery in good repair, have bright working lights, it’s visible mechanical systems should leave no doubts, and present a unified impression of safe functionality. Further, I think that advertising should be appropriate to the service that you are rendering and not dissuade your potential customers. (For example: Brain Injury specialists might not be a good choice of advertisers, and strip clubs might lend a impression of seediness.)

3. Will I have a good time?
Few people enjoy getting a service from a provider who is not enjoying giving the service. Other mood spoilers may include the areas that you are traveling through (smelly alleys, scary and or slow traffic or passing scary or slow people.) Will this be comfortable? The driver’s gracefulness traffic, knowing the best routes to travel, keeping up enjoyable conversation, and providing essential information go along way to helping your customer have a good time.

I think that when people have negative “good-time-experiences” they will be less likely to use a pedicab again. However I have given a ride to a Harley rider and his wife who received minor injuries from a pedicab accident, and have given rides to people who feel like they were ripped off previously, so exceptions do exist.

4. Will I be Safe?
The primary safety systems of a pedicab are it’s brakes, steering, drive train, lighting, seating. Even more important than these are the driver’s good common sense and awareness of his or her surroundings and the risks involved in the actions about to be undertaken. The driver’s confidence that he or she can safely deliver passengers to their intended destination will show.

It is important that all of the pedicabs safety systems be working optimally. Again even more important, the “drivers safety systems” must be operating.

Impaired vision, hearing, or judgment obviously make your passengers less safe. Less obvious, but a major consideration that all pedicab drivers should pay close attention to is their level of exhaustion and alertness. When I have low blood sugar levels, or am dehydrated, I do not make as sound decisions than if I feel sharp, well fed and have had plenty of liquids.

The most dangerous time for this is during a peak time of business, often when bars are closing. In this situation you may have been working long and hard and have expended all of your “fuel”, your passengers are likely to be drunk and may distract you, and many of the drivers you are sharing the roads with will be drunk. Maintaining your alertness, and keeping your wits about you while negotiating traffic is essential for your safety and the safety of your passengers. If you have allowed yourself to become obviously overtired, your potential customers are more likely to steer clear.

5. Can I get to my destination quickly?
Thankfully, most folks are not in that much of a hurry. If I get the impression that they are in a hurry I will ask. Passengers often want to make a mad dash to another bar before it closes, catch up to some friends, or close a tab they forgot about at a previous bar. Knowing your way around and how to bypass traffic is essential knowledge. Being generally fit (as most pedicabbers are) is also important.

6. Do I have enough cash?
“I don’t have any cash” is one of the most common concerns I hear.

The most common refrain to this objection is to offer to take customer to an ATM machine. I think that a better approach is to suggest that their friend pay for the ride and the person with no cash pay for the drinks at their next destination. This saves you some time and gets you ready for a new ride faster.

Of course a customer may ask to be taken by an ATM machine. I never object to this, as the ATMs usually only give out $20’s, and I often get one of them.

The largest tip that I have ever received was in the form of a check. I was dubious as to whether it would bounce, but I took it to their bank and cashed it the following Monday. Chaa-Ching.

7. Will I be embarrassed to ride a pedicab?
I tend to hear about this concern from younger folks. Girls sometimes will ask if they are too heavy. I generally tell them about the time I carried 4 UT football players. Guys sometimes will comment about how “gay” it is to be setting next to their friends and getting pulled around by a man. Usually I just, ask them how well they know each other and suggest they will know each other even better by the time the ride is over. (It’s a male bonding experience.)

Some passengers don’t want to be dropped off directly in front of their destination. I usually try to get my passengers as close as possible to where they specified wanting to go, and end my ride by asking “How is this for you?” Of course if they do not want to show up sitting in each others laps, I will stop where they specify.

8. Is my destination too close / too far / too steep?
In my mind, no destination is too close. Quick money adds up.

Determining if a ride is too far is about weighing your opportunity costs. “If I take this ride for X dollars, how many rides am I likely to not be able to take.” To know what your break even is, it helps to keep track of your average hourly income per clock hour. Thus if between 1 am and 2 am you average $50, and your passengers are offering you $25 at 1AM for what will amount to 1 hour of your time, the ride is not worth taking.

However if it is 3 AM, and they offer you the same $25 for an hour of time and your average income between 3AM and 4AM is 10$, the fare is a good one at that time.

Is the destination too steep? The answer to this question will come down to how durable your machine’s driver train is, how heavy your passengers are, how strong you feel at that moment, how long it will take to recover before you can take another fare, how long you generally have between fares at that time of night, if your passengers are willing to have you drop them off at the point that you can’t or do not want to go further, and how much you expect to make by taking them to the destination. I generally say that I will take them as far as I can go. Generally I get an above average tip for taking folks up steep hills.

9. Will I pay a fair price for the service that is offered?
This is actually one of the simplest concerns to overcome.

Answering this questions for yourself is a bit harder and comes down to how “hungry” you are at that moment. We all have to pay rent, and feed ourselves and maybe our family. But not taking a fare means forgoing any income at that moment.

Opportunity cost is your driving consideration. If you know that you make on average $30 an hour during a given clock hour (12AM to 1AM for example), it will not be worth taking a fare that will absolutely pay you less that that amount. Fortunately there are few absolutes when it comes to driving a pedicab. I have often taken people to far off destinations where I did not think I would have a return trip, only to end up picking up back to back rides for several destinations.

If a customer asks how much a ride is, I know they want the service, but are price sensitive. So I ask how many are in their party and where they are going. This will tell me how much time it will take, and how much effort I will expend. If the ride is moderately long (about 1 mile) I generally quote the standard Austin price of 5$ per person. If the ride is significantly shorter than 1 mile and I perceive my passengers to be price sensitive, I will say they can tip me what ever they think is fair.

If I quote a price that the customer objects to, I will generally come back and say: “How about this, I’ll take you to your destination and you can pay me whatever you think is fair.” Most often I will get what I quoted them originally if not more.

10. Will my fellow passenger(s) enjoy the ride?
This has got to be the hardest objection to overcome, as it requires complex communication and negotiation skills.

In general people going out together are friends and consider themselves equals. In this situation consensus (unanimous agreement) is usually required in order to change the agreed upon mode of transportation, or activity. (walking or taxi) One person in the group may have a single objection that you will never hear about that will prevent them from getting in your pedicab. In this case there is no harm in asking: “Hey guys / ladies / folks, can I help you change your mind?

One or more person(s) in the group may not have any cash, may worry about being overcharged, safety, being uncomfortable, or having a bad time. When asking directly what is making them say “No”, they may not to expend the time, effort, or break their mood in order to respond. None the less, overcoming this objection is the holy grail of profitability.

If one person is wanting a ride, you have a natural ally in overcoming the objections of others in the group. They are more likely to know what the objection is, and how to approach the person objecting in a persuasive manner. The person wanting a ride may have a special concerns that overrides the normally politically correct consensus decision making process. Their feet may hurt. They may be celebrating their birthday or anniversary and be willing to pull out this as a trump card to coerce they friends to indulge their desire to ride in your pedicab. Your ally may have $100 in their pocket and just want to give it to you.

The person wanting to take the ride may be willing to spend more money than the other(s). Encouraging your passengers to agree upon who will pay and how much they will pay ahead of time may help overcome this objection.

I believe the key to getting a group into your pedicab where some may object is to help steer the group in deciding to go with you. The following steps may help you get a favorable outcome.

1. Initiate conversation. (”So who wants to ride in my pedicab?” You already know the answer to this question.)
2. Ask the objecting person to identify themselves. (”Does anybody not want a ride?“)
3. Ask what their objection is. (”I know he/she wants a ride, so why don’t you?“)
4. Address their concern (cost, safety, time, fair price, distance, no cash, “gayness”, too heavy, too steep, too short, too far, previous bad pedicab experience, etc.)
5. Develop new consensus. (”If I get you guys/girls/folks to “X”(their destination) while making sure that “X” (fear/concern/objection) is avoided will that work for you?” -or- “If I get you to Club DeVille with out maiming or killing you folks will that be OK?”
6. Deliver the service that you agreed to and collect you fare.

Being a successful and profitable pedicab driver is a job not easily mastered. Being fit, approachable, personable, knowing your area, it’s destinations and attractions, knowing when and where traffic will be backed up and how to get around it all go a long way toward increasing your income. However, these skills are not all there is to it. Getting passengers into your cab is requisite to earning any money at all.

Understanding your customer’s concerns, addressing and overcoming their objections, developing allies, persuading, bypassing or overriding gatekeepers (money spenders) and knowing your product (you, your pedicab, and your city) are salesmanship skills will put extra passengers in your cab and money in your bank, and just might allow you to take a couple months off in the winter.

Article written by Ken Cameron. If you have any concerns feel free to comment below or email ken (at) austinpedicab.org

This is some footage just before the start of the 2007 - 2008 Austin First night parade. 15+ of Austin Pedicabbers had a race from 7th and congress to Cesar Chavez and ended in front of city hall.

The following is a short film by UT students Katy Stafford & Sarah Campbell on Austin, Texas documentary photographer & pedicab driver Jo Ann Santangelo.

The ground and transportation office regularly updates the contact information  as well as number of vehicles for pedicab, taxicab, limousine, charter bus, and horse carriage companies.

You can find their updated document here:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/publicworks/downloads/limoadd_5.8.08.pdf

In it you will find that there are currently: (as of May 8, 2008)

93 pedicabs
669 taxicabs
17 horse drawn carriages
118 limos
54 airport shuttle vans
81 chartered vans and buses
1 touring /sightseeing vehicle

There are currently 9 operating pedicab companies (8 if you do not count “Not Your Usual Bikes” and their conference bike.  Portland Pedicab with their 1 registered vehicle, and Power Bike Tours with their 7 registered pedicabs are no longer on the list.

The currently registered Pedicab companies are listed below:

ATX Pedicab
Mr. Dana Schoebert
3 pedicabs
(512) 445-7126

Capital Pedicab
Mr. Greg Foulkes
44 pedicabs
(512) 448-2227 fax (512) 220-4524

Dikes on Bikes
Seth Bounds
4 pedicabs
(713) 870-4523

Heart of Texas Pedicab
Mr. Steve Smajstrla
23 pedicabs
(512) 930-8791

Lone Star Cyclery
Mr. Bruce Swan
3 pedicabs
(512) 740-3711

Metrocycle
Mr. Nathan Lipson
10 pedicabs
(512) 825-1276

Not Your Usual Bikes
Mr. Wesley Stone
1 conference bike
(512) 740-7504

Roadkill Pedicab Co.
Mr. John Fisher
3 pedicabs
(512) 563-2437

Triciclo Pedicabs
Ms. Shannon Montgomery
2 pedicabs
(512) 590-0545

Joanne has set up a flicker group entitled “Austin Pedicab and the unmotorized revolution“. There are some great photos of many familiar faces. Mmmm, all those pretty pedicab ladies. 

This is a movie shot in Austin Texas. I think it was done by Matt Kordelski. Good work Matt.

This is the movie that you might expect a film student to make if they drive a pedicab. Funny none the less.

“The Great Pedicab Race” Part 1:

“The Great Pedicab Race” Part 2:

Hello all,

I was surprised today to see that austinpedicab.org is at the top of Google’s search results for the search term “Austin Pedicab”.  In celebration of this small accomplishment, I would like to open this blog up to pedicab drivers and business operators in the Austin area.

I have always intended this site to be a community resource.  I have worked to make the site usable and visible to wider world.  Now I am hoping that folks in the in the community will offer up there “2 cents” about the issues that our community deals with: regulation, on the spot inspections, tickets, insurance, making a living as a pedicabber, staying in the money making zone, avoiding and over coming burn out, going independent, dealing with customers, finding advertisers, etc.

I intend to maintain editorial control over the blog so that it stays positive and presents the Austin pedicab community in an accurate manner.  Personal attacks, character assignations, etc. will not be allowed.

I ask that all interested parties who would like to become submitters to the blog give me a call (512-584-9233) or talk to me when you see me pedaling on the streets.  I’ll set up an account with publishing rights for you and we can go from there.

I’m also thinking that a good photo would help readers identify the bloggers who are writing the post.

I will be happy to meet with folks who have never used word press blogging software before to give some training on its quirks.

http://www.hiddencity.org/div/ws/lab.hppt.htm

Proposed Lab

One effort at building a sustainable alternative transportation infrastructure is the Pedicab - a human powered taxi.

The “Main Street” Pedicab shown below is a good example of the tricycle design predominant in the market today.

Main Street Pedicabs, Inc.
http://www.pedicab.com

Weighting in at 160 lb., approximately 50 inches wide and 110 inches long, a Main Street Pedicab has a base price of $3,400.  The addition of lighting system, sun canopy, electric drive and other accouterments can push this quickly to $4,500 to $5,900.

The successful design, testing, manufacture and commercialization of this technology would make a significant contribution to the socioeconomic well-being and general quality of life for inner-city communities of the tri-state region.

Here is a design concept that makes good use of current materials science and bicycle technology.

This is an artist conceptualization of a Pedicab incorporating contemporary design and materials science.  The use of structural analysis software tools; advanced composites in the passenger module;  light-weight, high-strength frame; and state of the art drive-train components provide enhanced safety, performance and system durability.

Environmental effects such the Luminex fabric illuminated canopy and rider clothing increase visibility, reduce operational risk and aid in market distinction.

Operator support features: Voice Communications, GPS/GIS System, Dispatch and Tracking, ETA and Fare Estimate software.

Theater of Service: Community Taxi, dry goods and food delivery.

The pedicab Industry got some bad press from David Letterman: CBS | Late Show with David Letterman

What does Lucy like to do in the city on the beautiful day like we had today? She likes to exercise and ride her bike, and she’s started taking rides in those pedicabs so common now in the city. The pedicab is like a rickshaw where the passenger sits in a little carriage while he/she is bicycled around by a pedaller in front. Dave is familiar with the pedicabs and calls them a “litigation nightmare.” Yippee! I can’t agree more. I have no idea what insurance the pedicab drivers have and they have no respect for any traffic laws. They ride in and out of traffic, never stopping at lights, never signaling, never looking. I can’t believe the city lets them get away with that, and I can’t believe one of those pedicabs haven’t been flattened by an equally traffic law-breaking cab driver. And shouldn’t kids be required to wear a helmet when riding in the back of one of those?

 


Watch the video here:

Story taken from Newsday.com

Judge knocks down New York bicycle taxi registration rule


NEW YORK - A judge, finding that city law permits only bicycle taxi owners to apply for registration plates, has killed a city agency’s rule that would have let operators who don’t own the pedicabs apply for registration.


State Supreme Court Justice Edward Lehner ruled for the New York City Pedicab Owners Association. He said the Department of Consumer Affairs rule conflicted with Local Law 19, which allows only pedicab owners to obtain the licenses.


Local Law 19, passed April 23, 2007, reduces the city’s fleet of 600 pedicabs to 325. To limit harm to the investments of existing owners, the law says that only pedicab owners are eligible to receive the 325 plates.


The DCA’s regulations, which the pedicab association challenged, would have allowed anyone who had been involved in the pedicab industry in any capacity to complete equally for the limited plates.


The regulation also permitted all pedicab owners, regardless of the number of pedicabs they owned, to apply for up to 30 plates. This also violated Local Law 19.


After the DCA passed its regulations, pedicab owners sued, complaining that the new rules would let pedal-come-lately types destroy their businesses.


The judge agreed. He said the new regulations “would entirely eviscerate the (pedicab law’s) statutory framework … and create a hardship to businesses that had previously invested in the industry.”


A lawyer for the pedicab owners, Chad Marlow, said Thursday that after “the City Council law put the pedicab industry on life support and the Department of Consumer Affairs pulled the plug,” the court “threw the pedicab industry a lifeline, and we are very grateful.”


The pedicab association’s president, Peter Meitzler, who owns the Manhattan Rickshaw Co., issued a statement saying, “This decision does nothing less than save our industry” and “it prevents all those who invested in our green industry over the years from facing economic ruin.”


City lawyer Gabriel Taussig said he believed the judge’s decision was “legally wrong” and the DCA would appeal. He said its rule “treated all pedicab industry participants in an evenhanded manner.”

Taken from: The New York Sun

New York Supreme Court delivered a victory yesterday to the pedicab industry, whose fleet of about 600 bicycle taxis has been the subject of new regulations by the city. The regulations, voted into law by the City Council last April, placed a registration cap on the industry, allowing only 325 pedicabs to operate in the city at one time.


Several provisions of the law, enforced by the Department of Consumer Affairs, were struck down yesterday, according to a lobbyist for the pedicab industry, Chad Marlow. The court invalidated a qualification that would have allowed license applicants not yet active in the industry to compete equally with current pedicab owners, as well as a rule that one owner could apply for up to 30 licenses.”The City Council law put the pedicab industry on life support and the Department of Consumer Affairs pulled the plug,” Mr. Marlow said.”Yesterday, the Supreme Court threw the New York pedicab industry a lifeline.”


The cap on licenses remains in writing, but the city will not be able to enforce it until new qualifications are issued, Mr. Marlow said.

This 2005 article take from the Austin American Statesman jobs section:


http://jobs.statesman.com/JOBSWeb/common/viewContent.do?Content=/careercenter/articles/individualprofile_20050529.html&contentScreen=Content

Pedicab driver goes the extra mile for downtown Austin passengersBy David GlessnerSpecial Sections StaffSunday, May 29, 2005He’s never won the Tour de France, but to Austin night owls in need of a lift, Paul Miranda is a cycling chamAs a driver for Capital Pedicab, Miranda works for tips ferrying passengers to and from their downtown-area destinations on his modified, 21-speed passenger, three-wheeled pedicab. In two years of late-night pedal pushing, Miranda has chauffeured everyone from roaring party animals to cooing lovebirds.


more…

This video take from the 1989 movie “The Pedicab Driver”