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Committee lifts pedicab curfew, bars alcohol on pedicabs and clarifies rules
Summary
An ordinance amendment removed operating-hour restrictions for pedicabs (not pedal cars), prohibited alcohol on pedicabs, and removed a trash-receptacle requirement. Operator Ben Thompson told the committee pedicabs function as an emissions-free on-demand safe-ride option; the ordinance was adopted unanimously.
The Judiciary and Administration Committee voted unanimously to amend the city ordinance regulating pedicabs and pedal cars, removing the pedicab curfew while leaving pedal-car rules unchanged.
City Clerk Elson explained the change distinguishes pedicabs (bike-drawn for-hire rides) from pedal cars (pub trolleys that can permit alcohol), removing hour restrictions for pedicabs while clarifying that alcohol remains prohibited aboard pedicabs. The ordinance also removed an unrelated requirement that pedicabs provide trash receptacles, a provision that staff said made sense for pedal cars but not for door-to-door pedicab service.
Ben Thompson, who brought a pedicab to the chamber and described his operation, said the service operates like "a Uber without emissions" and is intended to provide an affordable, on-demand safe ride home for patrons downtown. Thompson said the current pilot had one pedicab with a four-person crew and charging $5 per rider within a two-mile radius. "The goal would be ... to be available when there's demand," he said, and he noted cooperation with the Tavern League on safe-ride efforts.
Committee members thanked Thompson and urged attention to operator and rider safety given recent cyclist fatalities; Council member Trost encouraged the operator to coordinate with the active-transportation community. The ordinance will go on the council consent agenda.
