Peddling Pedals for Profit: Despite the Recession, Pedicab Companies Thrive

By Kris Coronado

JAMES RICE IS EASY TO SPOT as he maneuvers his bike along the National Mall. It's not his oversize aviator sunglasses, navy mesh Adidas shorts, mismatched green and blue socks, or even the pale yellow "Air Force Dad" T-shirt that does it, though. It's the two-seater cart the 26-year-old is tugging along behind him.

"It's a lot like fishing," he explains over his shoulder to the two passengers he's pedaling in his Capitol Pedicab along Seventh Street. "You want to go where the most fish are."

On this sunny Tuesday afternoon, that's easily the National Museum of Natural History. As Rice cruises by a dozen tour buses crammed along the Constitution Avenue curb, he passes three pedicab peers who smile and wave. A look at the varying logos on the drivers' carts — Capitol Pedicabs, D.C. Pedicab and National Pedicabs — prove there are like-minded entrepreneurs at work here.

The District is in the midst of a rickshaw renaissance. The last two years have seen a steady rise in those willing to ferry folks around on the oversize two-seater carts.

"There's more of a market for it now," explains Steven Balinsky, a 23-year-old co-owner of Capitol Pedicabs (Capitolpedicabs.com).

"Everybody is a lot more environmentally conscious than they were five years ago. I would hope that if someone saw a pedicab and a taxi, they would make the choice to ride in a pedicab."

Surprisingly, the timing couldn't be better. The increasingly eco-conscious culture dovetails with the District's rise of a more bicycle-friendly atmosphere — from the launch of last year's SmartBike bike-sharing program to a mayor who rides regularly with a local cycling team.

Ben Morris, president of Boston-based National Pedicabs (Nationalpedicabs.com), was quick to take notice. The 27-year-old entered the D.C. market last summer and has expanded his D.C. fleet to 40, all the while continuing to spread his rickshaw reach to locales such as Newport, R.I. and Shreveport, La. That's pretty impressive, considering he started the company on a whim while he finished his senior year at Northeastern University. "I didn't even know how to change a flat tire on a bike, which is quite embarrassing," he admits. "I do now!"

Five years later, things have gotten into gear quickly. Morris readily recalls begging friends and roommates for their leg power. Now, he's overwhelmed with options. "On any given week, we have 20 to 30 people who apply to be a pedicab driver," he says. "It's pretty unbelievable, considering I couldn't keep five guys out riding when we first started."

And with great demand comes great variety. It turns out pedal people are an Americana cultural mishmash. Of course, students and young working professionals do it as a part-time gig, but there are also teachers on summer break, as well as actors and musicians who take it up between creative projects. "It would make a great reality TV show," Morris jokes.

For Rice, it's a great four-day-a-week gig that he'll continue until he heads to law school in the fall. "It's the easiest job if you can do it physically," he says. Once he's paid Balinsky a flat fee — $25 to 40 a day or $400 monthly — Rice can pocket the rest. Since he charges $5 a head for a run from the National Museum of Natural History to the Washington Monument, it's easy to pull in $150 a day. "I know if I quote low, I'll make it up in tips," he says.

For those running the companies, however, things can be slightly more complicated.

"It's an extremely difficult business to make profitable," Morris says. "A lot of people get into it and think, 'It's great. I'll buy a few bikes.' They don't realize all of the work you have to put into it." There's the cost of maintaining and storing the bikes, and at about $1,500 annually to insure each cab, the price tag adds up.

Getting insurance almost threw a wrench in John Patterson's plans to launch his Alexandria-based nonprofit, viaVelo (www.viaveloservice.org). "That was one of our hurdles to get across," he admits.

Fortunately, he got it last month for his first-of-its-kind venture with the Boys & Girls Club. Like Balinsky's and Morris' companies, viaVelo offers pedicab rides, but the drivers are teens from the local youth program (ages 18 and up). The hard-shell rickshaws also double as a delivery service, he says, with viaVelo already huff-and-puffing fresh veggies to local doorsteps for nearby farm co-ops.

"Washington is quite supportive," says Patterson. "So far, when we've been riding around it's a novelty. People are smiling and honking because it's, like, 'Oh, isn't that cute?'"

Cute, yes. In the future, it could even be common. Better yet, when the next Metro-clogging, can't-find-a-taxicab-anywhere Washington event arrives, a pedicab commute may just become crucially convenient.

"Somebody reserved a ride for 3-o-clock in the morning from their hotel to the National Mall — because they wanted to get a seat at the inauguration," Balinsky recalls. "If the opportunity is there, we'll do it."

Just don't expect to get there in a hurry, Rice says. Considering his cart is 175 pounds when empty, "it's hard to get above 7 mph."