tdayuk
27-04-2009, 13:21
Just read an article which mentioned electric propelled rickshaws in London and how these during the short period of 18 months before enforcement (as they are currently illegal to use in the UK) earned more money.
From conversation with fleet owners, it was more like an arms race, which demands more powerful motors, bigger or better batteries and improved reliability, as most riders would not want to peddle. This resulted in higher spend on the motor and parts (cheap ones breaking more), a steady replacement of parts ranging from controllers, to batteries, to brake pads, to wheels, to chains which added costs and the need of a skilled electrician to mend that 'little' cable without which the motor would not work. This in turn made rides come and go much more frequently then at any other time of pedicabing in London.
On top of this a price war started in which many operators had to drop the price from what was 100GBP per week for the drivers/riders to 85GBP (unpowered to 55GBP) and the prices even now are still low thanks to this. It allowed a bad/poor pedicab to operate as a car and that it would pay to buy lots of cheap chines copies, as long as you could replace all the broken parts quickly. Most operators did not manage to even recover the cost of fitting motors and batteries.
I'm interested if this has also been the case in other parts of the world in which motors made a visit?
From conversation with fleet owners, it was more like an arms race, which demands more powerful motors, bigger or better batteries and improved reliability, as most riders would not want to peddle. This resulted in higher spend on the motor and parts (cheap ones breaking more), a steady replacement of parts ranging from controllers, to batteries, to brake pads, to wheels, to chains which added costs and the need of a skilled electrician to mend that 'little' cable without which the motor would not work. This in turn made rides come and go much more frequently then at any other time of pedicabing in London.
On top of this a price war started in which many operators had to drop the price from what was 100GBP per week for the drivers/riders to 85GBP (unpowered to 55GBP) and the prices even now are still low thanks to this. It allowed a bad/poor pedicab to operate as a car and that it would pay to buy lots of cheap chines copies, as long as you could replace all the broken parts quickly. Most operators did not manage to even recover the cost of fitting motors and batteries.
I'm interested if this has also been the case in other parts of the world in which motors made a visit?