Delving Into Downtown Pedicabs

[tags]downtown, los angeles, pedicab, cycle richshaw, transit, interview[/tags]

As a car-free resident of Downtown LA the propsect of pedicabs in Downtown excites me to no end, and so I just had to ask Eric Green, the founder of Green Machines and regular Blue Line rider, a few questions about his quest to introduce the man-powered vehicles into Central City.

MRLA: What made you think that now was the right time to introduce pedicabs into Downtown?

EG: Simply the lack of anything else like it Downtown. Working in a Downtown hotel I constantly see the need for getting people from one place to another that does not involve a two minute taxi ride or a twenty minute walk in heels. My hope is that Downtown locals will take to the idea of the pedicab as an alternative to the car for short trips, whether it be a night on the town or a trip to the grocery store. I plan to put a big emphasis on catering to the locals, I put a lot of time into choosing the best looking top of the line pedicab because I want the locals to be proud to have the Green Machine represent their neighborhood.

MRLA: What is the general area you plan on serving (is it limited to South Park, will you serve the Historic Core, Chinatown, etc)?

EG: The only boundaries I have set are the 10 freeway to the south and probably the 110 to the west. At this point I will try and serve as much of the area as possible and in the future when I have more cabs I will keep them spread around extending up to Chinatown.

MRLA: What hours will you keep?

EG: Initially evenings starting around five and going late on Friday and Saturday to cover last call, eventually service will be available day and night.

MRLA: Will it be possible to “flag” a pedicab, ie. will you just be cruising around some nights, or will someone have to call to get picked up?

EG: It will definitely be possible to flag the pedicab down but I do want to get the phone number out to make it as easy as possible for people to arrange for a ride, I’m also toying with the idea of on line reservations when the website comes together.

MRLA: How many Green Machines would you like to have on the street by the end of the year?

EG: By the end of the year I would like to have Four pedicabs operating daily.

MRLA: This may be faux pax, but what kind of tip would you expect for an average pedicab ride?

EG: If I had to come up with some sort of gauge I guess somewhere between fifty cents and a dollar per minute of the ride would probably work.

MRLA: And lastly, Is it possible to take a pedicab up Bunker Hill?

EG: I have not yet tried to conquer mount bunker hill, it will no doubt be my biggest physical challenge I think I’ll do a practice run with no passengers first to avoid embarrassing myself.