AlmostTrick

I recently got involved in this discussion about allowing pedicabs in a nearby town.

Do pedicabs add to traffic congestion in downtown area's or reduce it? Why?

degnaw

(Are you "NorthAve C" ?

I doubt a tricycle nearly the size of a car and weighing hundreds of pounds (with only one person pedaling) is going to help traffic - you don't have the size advantage you have from a regular bike, and I seriously doubt these things top 10mph regularly. That said, if a 10mph vehicle is a major hindrance during rush hour, then the roads are probably not nearly as bad as those people make them out to be. I like the idea, but I don't think they reduce traffic congestion (especially compared to a car-taxi).

crackerdog

It's the fact that there are too many cars using the road. Most roads were platted before cars were even invented. Cars take up too much room for the number of occupants. If the number of accidents were considered important, cars would be banned everywhere. Who do they think cause serious accidents, pedestrians? It is the stupid, wasteful cars that are so boring to drive that most drivers attention drifts off. Try that on a bike and see how far you get.

CB HI

They will have NO impact. If it is rush hour in the city core, then traffic is only moving 10 mph anyway. If traffic is flowing freely, then city streets have enough lanes that motorist can easily change lanes and keep moving right around the pedi-cab; with only a ten second delay in reaching the next red light.

botto 

yes.

apricissimus 

Depends on where you are. And I would guess that the majority of roads in the US were designed with cars in mind. Even the ones that weren't have been modified and optimized for cars as much as possible.

crackerdog

Since most roads were platted before cars, it is obvious that cars were not the intended users of the PUBLIC rights of way. I agree that everyone thinks that they are for cars but they are for all people.

apricissimus 

Is this true? I'm skeptical.

And while I'm certainly not arguing that bicycles don't belong on the road (or even pedicabs), just because something was designed one way, that doesn't mean it must be used that way forever. Things can be repurposed, or used in a more limited way.

no motor?

I heard this story mentioned on the radio this morning, and really wondered about that. My parents still live there, and we moved there in the late 70's when Naperville was a lot smaller. Last time I drove through uptown Naperville, I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic that barely moved. If they can go 12 mph in that they'd be going way faster than anyone else would.

noglider 

The League of American Bicyclists says that they were the first group to lobby for the pavement of roads in the early part of the 20th century, before any motoring advocacy group did.

I agree that pedicabs don't affect traffic. I am in NYC often, and there is a stunning number of pedicabs. Traffic is not worse as a result of their appearance.

I've thought that if I could give up my income, that's the job I would want, pedaling one of those things. Maybe when I retire, if I'm still strong. Call me crazy, I know.

AlmostTrick

Any response like "Yes" with nothing to back it up is meaningless.

This makes sense to me. Has anyone else here had experience actually sharing the road with these cabs, or maybe even driving one?

Yes, I am NorthAve c in the DH comments.

genec

I was once a pedicab driver... and frankly the impact that pedicabs made on traffic was minimal. The routes we chose typically had wide paths/sidewalks and or were downtown where the traffic moved slowly anyway.

A pedicab is still narrower than the average passenger car... and often there was little issue with blocking traffic. This was back in the early 80s however, before SUVs arrived on the traffic scene.

Perhaps the real question that should be posed to the town council should be regarding all those single passenger cars and SUVs which really cause traffic congestion.

Pat

We have them in Orlando near Lake Eola. Generally, the pedicabs are active after rush hours when the traffic volume has fallen off. It gives certain people employment and it gives pedestrians a rather interesting way to get around conveniently. I don't see where the losers are in this one.

daven1986

well if you consider places like india where they have many such "cabs" aka rickshaws they seem to work quite well. In london we have just started to get quite a few of them, and they don't seem too bad but they aren't as easy to get around the small streets as bikes but neither are cars.

Overall I think they are pretty good and promote cycling a little, and probably don't add as much to congestion as another car would.

noglider 

Yes, I often drive in midtown Manhattan, where, as I said, there are lots of pedicabs. There are also lots of regular bicycles. No big deal, except they move more slowly than regular bikes, but they also don't dart left and right like so many cyclists in Manhattan do.

hurricane harry

Pedicabs can actually go faster than 10mph, unfortunatly.

https://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...pedicab08.html

genec

Having been a pedicab driver... I think this statement says it all...

The pedicab company I leased from had periodic get-togethers with the drivers and we would race the cabs, and take them through the paces to ensure that we knew well how to operate them. We were also told we were "ambassadors for the city," and thus had to present a certain appearance (mandated dress code) and to maintain a certain professional ethic in our dealings with the public. I dare say this may not be the case for pedicabs everywhere.

nick burns

Ok, so it's not pedicabs, but close enough.


KRAMER: Oh, boy, look at this. Hong Kong's outlawed the rickshaw. See, I always thought those would be perfect for New York.

JERRY: (Sarcastic) Yes. The city needs more slow-moving wicker vehicles.

botto 

incorrect.

unterhausen

I rode my racing bike up the main drag today, and I was shaking my fist at people and cursing like a Indian pedicab driver (I've been practicing my Hindi cursing quite a bit lately). Once traffic density gets past a certain point, most drivers lose the thread and things come to a halt. Sometimes it's fun because the traffic speeds up and slows down a lot, today it was all just the slow part.

David13

San Diego still has those pedicabs. They seem to do just fine. Maybe they have some report on traffic impact.
However, I think the cabs are more of a tourist attraction or a tourist novelty than a means of transportation, in San Diego. Maybe NYC is different.
dc

noglider 

Good question. They're probably mostly for tourists, but I don't know. I'll stop one of the drivers and ask.

genec

Tend to agree... RE the tourist thing.

Gotta tell you though the pedicabs downtown are quite a bit more renegade than back when I was a pedicab driver... I used to do Balboa park, Seaport village and Harbor Island... the guys downtown these days are bit wilder than the "ambassadors for the city" that we were back in the early '80's.

AlmostTrick

Well, considering tourists don't know the area well, that would make sense. Much better than walking around lost! It would be a fun way to see the town while enjoying a drink, especially if you had a personable driver who could give you the grand tour.

AlmostTrick

Well that's kind of sad to hear. Hopefully it's not like that everywhere.