seely

Well I am pretty serious about setting up an operation here as our town has a great downtown with no such service. Tons of bars to shuttle drunks back and forth to. The issue for me however is cost... one of those pedicabs that have the bike built to the front cost $3,500... no way I can afford that. My car isn't even worth near that. While in Austin I saw a lot of guys using a style of pedicab/rickshaw that is like a trailer that will attach to any bike. I cannot find these for sale anywhere... anyone got any suggestions where I might find one? I am hoping they would be significantly cheaper.

Jon

Guest

Have you checked ebay? Seriously.

Also, have you checked with city hall and the police department to make sure you can do this?

Finally, do a google search.... check with froogle.com. If you can find it anyplace, it's through froogle. Then once you have your results, do a modification of the search and have it list from low price to high price so you can get the skinny on costs right off the bat.

Good luck!

Koffee

seely

Yeah I checked google, I checked ebay, everthing winds up pointing to the $3,500 models with the bike integrated to the passenger compartment.

Thanks... I do plan to check with city hall before I purchase.

Guest

This guy has a pedicab for sale on ebay, but look at his feedback. He has positive and negative, and I would definitely ask for a picture of the real thing- if he has boxed pedicabs, he should be able to open the box and take a picture of the stuff inside the box. Otherwise, I don't think it would be worth it to purchase from him:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...&category=2904
Definitely a "buyer beware" situation if he can't at least produce a picture of the unassembled parts in the box!

These folks claim to have affordable pedicabs: https://www.manhattanrickshaw.com/sales.htm

Or, why not try this? Contact the bigger pedicab companies and see if they're getting ready to junk the current pedicabs they have and if they would be willing to sell one to you? It's worth the trouble, and it could be a win-win for both parties.

Good luck. It looks tough.

Koffee

rymodee

most pedicab companies have a list of used pedicabs for sale. i think frankies tours has a good list, and they are the trailer type that you are looking for (and the kind that i have) and i think they are about 1000 dollars. the ones MOST common on ebay are pretty awful one speeders which don't look too well constructed. definitely look into local laws before going too far, as taxi companies and those horse carriage dudes in tuxedos often lobbied to make laws against you. good luck and chow annh. toy tich ung cafe. (sp)

seely

I found them a few days ago but their site has been down everytime I've checked. I wonder if they are still in buisiness? Anyways thanks for the tips. We do have one horse carriage that I see downtown occasionally, wouldn't be surprised if they have tried to corner the market.

Guest

Don't limit yourself to your town, though. Search in nearby cities and states and find other pedicab companies and see if they haven any used ones for sale.

Good luck.

Koffee

genec

Look I don't mean to discourage you or anything, but if you find those $3500 pedicabs too expensive, consider also the other costs of doing business. This is not something to be entered into lightly... you are asking the public to pay you for transit on public streets and walkways. There are probably business permits required, insurance, and repairs.

You don't just sit with a cab on some roadside and hope the public comes around.

I was a pedicab driver in San Diego in the mid 80s. The situation then was that a "driver" leased the cab for a period of time from the cab company and then hussled for rides in areas that had been established by agreement with the city. A driver's goal was to bring in more money than the lease, and be cool enough with his passengers to get good tips. (usually using a good tour/talk routine and knowing an area well enough to recommend good food, sights, etc.)

Good luck, but may I suggest that you look into permits, insurance and the like that your city might require before you go off buying a bike?

rymodee

craigs lis has one for a grand.
www.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/50461833.html

rymodee

i think it is different in every city not just legally, but would people in your city appreciate a pedicab? do you want to rely on drunks in yer cab. they tend to tip better after they're all lubed up, but i'm always scared when they're in the cab. is there a tourist spot or a vibrant downtown. i'm all for you just jumping in and doing it though. good luck. i really hope you do this.

Guest

I don't know if I would appreciate one. We have enough carriage rides with horses clogging up the city and slowing down traffic. If we suddenly got an influx of pedicabs, I'd probably get pretty annoyed. Let those lazy, fat bastards who ride in pedicabs learn to get around on their own bikes.

Koffee

rymodee

aw come on, some (almost all) tourists don't bring their bikes with them, and kids love it, too. besides it's a good way to make a living without doing something you don't agree with (like most jobs today) and it keeps you in some good shape. and i personally don't mind clogging up traffic, cars and suv's do more damage than i could ever even imagine.

Guest

Kids are too fat these days. They could stand to walk off their lazy butts. Tourists just frustrate me in general. They pollute our cities with their waddling nature, their inability to understand direction, and their constant dumb expressions as they point up and around while their meandering along without any consideration for the rest of us who are trying to get to work, home, run errands, etc.

I love downtown Chicago... EXCEPT at Christmas, when the crowds are so obnoxiously large I have to avoid Michigan Avenue entirely until the end of January. Between the crowds, the horses and carriages, and the everyday traffic, it's just a drag. Forget about riding your bike down Michigan Avenue with all this going on. It's not worth the hassle.

Koffee