Pedicab 'Chariots' put on ice

by brian x. mccrone / metro philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA. Ben Dambman got the idea for starting a pedicab company in Manayunk during an eight-month stay at his brother’s apartment in southern Florida.

Chariots of Philly owner Ben Dambman catches a ride from Roy Abrams, who could have been a driver if the company wasn’t shut down by the city. (Photo: Rikard Larma/Metro)

When he returned to Philadelphia in 2003 and realized not a single one of the unusual vehicles operated within city limits, he quickly got a business license and starting shuttling people around Main Street.

“He sold his car to get a couple of them,” said Ben’s brother, Tom Dambman, who later returned to Philadelphia to help his brother run the company, Chariots of Philly. “Philly is one of the only major cities that don’t have them.”

But after four years and hundreds of pedicab rides in Manayunk later, Philadelphia is again one of the only cities without them.

The city in October 2006 forced the Dambmans off the street after officials with the Department of Licenses and Inspections decided that there was no ordinance regulating pedicabs and ordered them to cease running the business, the Dambmans said.

“They actually impounded one of the pedicabs,” Tom Dambman said. “At that point, we were told we could not operate because no ordinance was in place.”

The problem arose after the Dambmans brought their four pedicabs to South Philadelphia for a couple of Eagles games in 2007 in hopes of expanding their business outside Manayunk.

“We don’t know who filed a complaint but it must have been someone important,” Tom Dambman said. Chariots of Philly have since taken their pedicabs to the Jersey Shore, where they operate during the summers in Avalon.

“It’s not regulated or anything but they’re happy we’re down there,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the city was unable to track down information about the business yesterday.

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Name: Chariots of Philly

Address: Formerly of Manayunk, now operating summers in Avalon

Services: Four pedicabs, which shuttle customers much like taxi cabs, only the pedicabs use human energy to transport people instead of gas

Background: The company operated with a general business license from 2003 to 2007 until city officials forced the company to cease operations. The Dambmans are currently trying to gather support within City Council.