The PediCab

Ah, this has to be one of the reasons I love big cities- they have PediCabs!
My mother and I were on the west side going to a college counselor speech/meeting/question-and-answer session, and afterwards instead of taking the bus across town we decided to walk under central park to the east side. I actually devloped a headache from the 3-hour long meeting (ah, i know! talk about long and intimidating), so my mom and I bought a couple Coca-colas, I took an advil, and we set off on our journey. Haha it was actually really nice, since it was SO warm this saturday! Crazy how the weather is fluctuating so much! But as we passed through the very tourist-y parts of Columbus circle and midtown, we saw the swarm of Pedicabs taking people around. My mother didn't want to spend the money on one and I was more than happy to walk, but I rememebred how long it's been since I went on one! And in a city where taxis rule over the city, pedicabs are a nice change. Plus, they run on human-power, which is super good for the environment.

And it gave me an idea. How cool would it be to be a pedicab driver over the summer? I mean, I only have June and August to spare since I might (cross my fingers) be going away in July, so that wouldn't give me too much time to get a steady job. And pedicab driving would certainly give me nice legs =] haha. I think they usually chanrge $2 per block, or $15-30 per ride. probably depending on the time/area.

And I'm sure this guy probably gets loads of customers because who wouldn't want a driver dressed in roman garb? Haha. This was a great picture, whoever the photographer is. =]

I wish I had the money to buy one...they cost about $1,900ish. But I think most driver's actually rent their pedicabs, and then try to profit from making more than that in a day. They actually are making a law now regulating the pedicab industry...by limiting the number of pedicabs to only 300ish! They might also require them to wear license plates! I'm not sure what the outcome of the hearing was, but I'm not sure if I'm in favor of limiting the number of pedicabs =[. They're too benificial for the environment.

(Someone who rented a fleet of them for their wedding) =]

So, overall, my little walk on a lovely Saturday inspired several thoughts:

1. Could be a potential summer job? Hey, I have strong legs! And i'll have my (junior) license in the spring if everything goes well. It's not a very feminine job, but it'll be a great way to be in nice weather everyday and I'll be able to chum up to tourists =]. Haha I most likely won't get a job like that, but we'll see! =D

2. Would serve New York well for going green. Honestly, they're much prettier/eco-friendly than those silly taxi's.

3. We need to reform our streets! You know, it'd be really nice if we could somehow incorporate a pedicab lane in our streets (kinda like they have bicycle lanes in some areas). It would make pedicabs safer and erase the issues of traffic that they have when going on streets with normal cars. The chances of this happening are slim-to-none, but hey it's an idea.

I don't know if all my readers have ridden pedicabs, but I'll tell you- they're so nice! In good weather, you can feel the wind in your hair and see new york city in a relaxed fashion. I'm definetly a fan of them!

Thanks for reading,

-New York Chique