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June 22, 2007

Free bike taxis pedal patrons around Port

Stephen Tait

NEWBURYPORT — Training wasn’t even finished when a gentleman flagged down the Newburyport Pedicab drivers asking them to give three prom dates a ride from Merrimac Street to the high school.

Blake Harris, 17, and Kevin Murphy, 39, said they agreed to do it, but before the short trip was over, the chains fell off the bikes several times, a panicked mother got out of her car to help push the pedal-powered cabs, and the drivers struggled to propel the 150-pound vehicles up the steep hill.

“But in the end all the kids had fun,” Harris said. “We just kept on going.”

“And they were the talk of the town; people were honking their horns,” Murphy added.

Harris and Murphy say their new venture hasn’t slowed since. Created to raise money for the Pan-Mass Challenge, the two say, their nonprofit business will attract more than 200 riders on busy Saturdays. Drivers earn as much as $60 for a ride.

“The biggest challenge is letting people know it’s a free ride, we work for tips only, and it’s for charity,” Harris said.

The company, which opened in May, uses bicycle rickshaws — a bicycle that has a sitting area extending behind it — to transport people throughout the city. They will travel as far as Plum Island, which takes a bit more than an hour, and the train station.

Most of their business is between restaurants, such as 10 Center Street and Michael’s Harborside, and they also provide valet parking for the Plum Island Grill, which has limited parking on site. They also work for special events.

There is also no shortage of bargoers looking for a safe ride home.

They employ 10 to 12 drivers — who rent the bikes from Harris and Murphy and then work for tips — and own four pedicabs.

And since opening, they’ve made their mark in the city.

“We sort of developed a regular customer base now,” Harris said. “The novelty of the service has really sold the ride.”

“The locals are really taking to it, and the tourists really enjoy it,” Murphy said. “People take rides more than anything else because it is fun.”

But it hasn’t been without challenges.

In the first month, one of Pedicab’s first sponsors — which advertise on the bikes — pulled out. That sent Harris scrambling to find other advertisers to make up for the loss, which is about a fourth of the revenue.

Then after training for drivers was finished, one of them left the company unexpectedly. Only later did they find out the driver was setting up a pedicab company of his own in Salem.

There are also regular problems, such as pedals breaking, not getting tipped for a ride and chains falling off bikes. That’s not to mention the sometimes hilly terrain they must navigate — even with several customers.

“State Street doesn’t seem like a hill but it’s a huge hill when you have two or three people in the cab,” Murphy said.

In the end, though, Murphy and Harris concentrate on the goal at hand: to raise money for a good cause. That is the goal on July 8 and 28, especially, when the two will donate all tips to the Pan-Mass Challenge.

“We’re setting out to make money for charity, and we’re going to do that,” Murphy said.



Need a Ride...

Company: Newburyport Pedicab

Phone: 978-465-1496

Web site: www.newburyportpedicab.com

Cost: Free (drivers work for tips)

Newburyport Pedicab is looking to hire more drivers



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