Pulse

Pedal pushers

By Brittany Kress

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WILL SHILLING PHOTO

Cycling through High Street traffic while pulling two adults in a carriage on wheels isn't as easy as it sounds.

Oh, right. It doesn't sound easy.

But a month into business for Columbus' startup foot-powered pedicab service, people are into it, with drivers excited about getting paid to get fit and riders interested in supporting a green business.

ETC Pedicabs is a Downtown-centric service that kicked off at the beginning of the month and operates whenever Mike Sorboro's loose association of drivers wants to troll the area — usually on nights and weekends.

The two-seat fiberglass carriages, attached to the front half of a bike, fill a gap for people who are "a little too far to walk and a little too close to take a cab," Sorboro said.

After seeing pedicabs in action in San Diego and feeling the idea could take off here, Sorboro ordered several bikes and launched the business out of his Short North apartment.

Driver Nikki Jones, who's picked up everyone from couples dining Downtown to students out in the Arena District bars, said she thinks ETC will be successful because it's operating in a progressive area.

WILL SHILLING PHOTO

The drivers are independent contractors, paying a set fee to use a cab whenever and however long they'd like to and charging a rate they negotiate with riders — usually about $2 a block, Sorboro said. The City of Columbus is considering putting rate regulations in place, he added.

Success on the road is part luck, part persuasion, said Kevin Turner, an Ohio State freshman who started as an operator for ETC a few weeks ago. He's a talkative kid with an entrepreneurial spirit, happy with the spending money he's making on his own terms.

"I just do it to get out there and meet people and be in town without being in one place," he said. "I'm a bit of a free spirit, so it just kind of suits me."

The pedicabs have been roaming around the Short North, Arena District and Campus areas and should expand to Downtown during lunchtime soon, although schedules will likely adjust as he feels out the field, Sorboro said. People can call 614-207-9378 to request pickup.

For some, the rickshaw-like vehicles are taking some getting used to.

"They're kind of really novel to the area, or they're perceived as really novel," Sorboro said. "People don't really want to be the first one to get on one."

Turner, an avid biker, has already figured out where he'll be steering the pedicab: the Short North, where passersby "will jump on just for the experience." And he'll be staying away from Campus.

"Not everyone is open to the idea," said Turner, who wasn't welcomed during several trips he made though Campus early on. "I've had people shout rude things at me ... like 'Go back to China.' I was pretty appalled at that one."

Other times, it's just physically tough. Even the slightest upward slope makes a difference, riders said, and rain has been a downer lately.

But the exercise leaves Jones feeling good. She's been working four to six hours on occasional evenings to supplement her income working part-time at the Lazy Chameleon in Powell.

"It's not impossible, but I definitely have to put in effort," she said. "I think people expect to see guys driving; the fact that I'm a girl driving might be more appealing."

Summertime success in San Diego

Tourists are the reason the pedicab wheels have kept turning in San Diego since the bike taxis first rose in popularity 10 years ago.

Riders sometimes hop on for a few blocks' jaunt or a four-hour tour of downtown, said Ballpark Pedicabs marketing director David Gunn. Without a big tourist population, pedicabs would cease to exist in San Diego, he added.

"It's a total impulse buy," Gunn said. "It's impossible to have a bike go by and not be interested." Ballpark also offers regular, planned tours as a side business and covers all of its bikes and riders in advertising.

And though residents have gotten used to the pedicabs — some even rally around their eco-friendly mission — there's still a stigma attached, he said.

"Some people see it as being a little snotty, some see it as being a little too peasant," Gunn said.

Tourists make up about 75 percent of business for Ballpark. It's one of the city's biggest companies, with 125 pedicabs and about 150 operators on staff in the summer.

About 500 "pedicabbers" total are licensed to troll the city during the summertime peak, said Brad Jacobsen, associate traffic engineer with the city of San Diego. Most are local college students and students from abroad.

San Diego pedicabbers, like those currently in Columbus, operate as independent contractors, leasing the vehicle for a certain amount and then negotiating rates with passengers before starting a ride. To avoid major discrepancies, though, the city might next season require each to post his or her fare, whatever that might be, Jacobsen said.

"We don't want to disturb or interrupt their business model if it works for them," he said. "But we've had cases of where two people get into a pedicab and two people get into the pedicab behind them, and one charges them $20 and the other $60."

May 22, 2008

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