General: Pedicabs- whats you take on them...

Personnally any way I can make a living on a bike is an ideal situation for me. I would like to see more of these companies around.

a few of my friends are pedicab operators, and they all love it and pretty much look like beasts from the amount of riding they do. I think its probably a better living than being a messenger, cars aren't really aiming for pedicabs as much, less of a rush as people in a hurry just jump in a regular cab, plus pedicab drivers make way more money in tips than messengers do.

as far as yellow bike programs go, unless you have to rent the bike (like the program in france), then it is a total clusterfuck nightmare. I work at the shop in portland that created the yellow bike program that many are modeled after, and the old timers always talk about how it was one of the biggest nightmares they ever had from the viewpoint of managing it, i.e. constant theft and vandalism of the bikes and people mad that you wouldn't fix it free faster. My neighbor in my hometown built all the bikes for my cities 'lilac bike' program, and the same thing happened, most of the bikes were either stolen by crazy bums or at the bottom of the river thanks to punk kids within a month of launching the program. without a sense of ownership these bike share programs will never work.

Posted By: Legislatora few of my friends are pedicab operators, and they all love it and pretty much look like beasts from the amount of riding they do. I think its probably a better living than being a messenger, cars aren't really aiming for pedicabs as much, less of a rush as people in a hurry just jump in a regular cab, plus pedicab drivers make way more money in tips than messengers do.

as far as yellow bike programs go, unless you have to rent the bike (like the program in france), then it is a total clusterfuck nightmare. I work at the shop in portland that created the yellow bike program that many are modeled after, and the old timers always talk about how it was one of the biggest nightmares they ever had from the viewpoint of managing it, i.e. constant theft and vandalism of the bikes and people mad that you wouldn't fix it free faster. My neighbor in my hometown built all the bikes for my cities 'lilac bike' program, and the same thing happened, most of the bikes were either stolen by crazy bums or at the bottom of the river thanks to punk kids within a month of launching the program. without a sense of ownership these bike share programs will never work.

I’m really sorry to hear that about the YBP, but I can certainly see your point. I just wish people would appreciate what the YBP’s trying to do, and if not contribute to it, than at least respect it for what it is and leave the bikes alone…

Chicago is a bit round waisted but there are no hills, win-win for pedicab drivers!

I do pedicab work, and it can be very profitable. Depending on the shift, your fleet of working trikes to ride and who you're working for the money is there. Downtown here in PDX right now people have been accustom to the sight of them, and when the bars are up and running people are willing to drop a nice tip to get somewhere within walking distance. It definitely puts some extra muscle in the legs, and the risk is very slim.

I have to say from operating them, it's worth the money and the time only if you're not busting your ass. Living in a somewhat hilly city can really put the strain on. But all together, there should be more of these types of businesses in more cities all over.