Trixi.com
08-02-2005, 00:39
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Pedicabs roll for city's revelry
Companies from as far as California sent rigs for Super Bowl week.
By RYAN GEDDES
The Times-Union
When asked what he thinks of Jacksonville drivers, Massimo Cassitta pauses and turns to his passenger to shout above the traffic noise on Bay Street downtown.
"They're very polite," he said, with an Italian accent. "They have a lot of curiosity about how much I charge."
Polite drivers and curious locals are a good start for an out-of-town pedicab driver starting a week's run in a strange city, and Cassitta is making the most of it. On Tuesday night the Italy-born New Yorker said he made about $275 ferrying people from downtown to San Marco until about 12:30 a.m.
His prices? Anywhere from $5 to $100, depending on what riders offer. This rider offered $10 and zipped around downtown for about 15 minutes.
The company Cassitta works for, Mr. Rickshaw LLC out of New York City, brought 23 three-wheeled bicycles to Jacksonville for Super Bowl XXXIX, priming their drivers with maps of the city to familiarize them with the area.
Drivers pay about $1,250 to the company to work in the area, Cassitta said, buying into a package that includes airfare, accommodations, insurance and cab rental. Drivers then keep the majority of their fares and give a portion to the company.
Pedicab drivers must be licensed by the city to operate in Jacksonville, and Cassitta produced a laminated card provided by the Duval County Tax Collector's Office to show he was legit (he also happens to be a licensed dental technician).
As Cassitta plied downtown's Northbank on Tuesday afternoon, Ball Park Pedicabs was preparing for a night of activity at its rented parking lot on the Southbank. Based in San Diego, the group drove 60 hours straight from the West Coast last week, bike mechanic Stevo Hottman said.
The company has about 30 drivers and cabs in Jacksonville.
Ball Park drivers have been concentrating mainly on moving people from the NFL Experience on the Southbank to nearby hotels and restaurants, but they have yet to cross the river to the Northbank, driver Serafin Garcia said.
While Garcia, who is from Miami, said his passengers mostly go from the NFL Experience to their hotels, Cassitta said his most popular destination is one of San Marco's hippest eateries -- Bistro Aix.
Producing one of the restaurant's business cards from under the passenger seat of his cab, Cassitta said he and his fellow Mr. Rickshaw drivers have a casual arrangement with Bistro Aix. In exchange for pedaling in customers, drivers get the occasional free menu item.
The good-natured New Yorker gets suddenly serious when asked how the restaurant's food compares to high-end spots in the Big Apple.
"If you want to know my personal opinion, it's better," he said.
Source:
www.jacksonville.com (http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/020205/met_17853695.shtml)
http://www.jacksonville.com/superbowl/images/jaxcom_logo.gifhttp://www.jacksonville.com/superbowl/images/host_logo.gif
Pedicabs roll for city's revelry
Companies from as far as California sent rigs for Super Bowl week.
By RYAN GEDDES
The Times-Union
When asked what he thinks of Jacksonville drivers, Massimo Cassitta pauses and turns to his passenger to shout above the traffic noise on Bay Street downtown.
"They're very polite," he said, with an Italian accent. "They have a lot of curiosity about how much I charge."
Polite drivers and curious locals are a good start for an out-of-town pedicab driver starting a week's run in a strange city, and Cassitta is making the most of it. On Tuesday night the Italy-born New Yorker said he made about $275 ferrying people from downtown to San Marco until about 12:30 a.m.
His prices? Anywhere from $5 to $100, depending on what riders offer. This rider offered $10 and zipped around downtown for about 15 minutes.
The company Cassitta works for, Mr. Rickshaw LLC out of New York City, brought 23 three-wheeled bicycles to Jacksonville for Super Bowl XXXIX, priming their drivers with maps of the city to familiarize them with the area.
Drivers pay about $1,250 to the company to work in the area, Cassitta said, buying into a package that includes airfare, accommodations, insurance and cab rental. Drivers then keep the majority of their fares and give a portion to the company.
Pedicab drivers must be licensed by the city to operate in Jacksonville, and Cassitta produced a laminated card provided by the Duval County Tax Collector's Office to show he was legit (he also happens to be a licensed dental technician).
As Cassitta plied downtown's Northbank on Tuesday afternoon, Ball Park Pedicabs was preparing for a night of activity at its rented parking lot on the Southbank. Based in San Diego, the group drove 60 hours straight from the West Coast last week, bike mechanic Stevo Hottman said.
The company has about 30 drivers and cabs in Jacksonville.
Ball Park drivers have been concentrating mainly on moving people from the NFL Experience on the Southbank to nearby hotels and restaurants, but they have yet to cross the river to the Northbank, driver Serafin Garcia said.
While Garcia, who is from Miami, said his passengers mostly go from the NFL Experience to their hotels, Cassitta said his most popular destination is one of San Marco's hippest eateries -- Bistro Aix.
Producing one of the restaurant's business cards from under the passenger seat of his cab, Cassitta said he and his fellow Mr. Rickshaw drivers have a casual arrangement with Bistro Aix. In exchange for pedaling in customers, drivers get the occasional free menu item.
The good-natured New Yorker gets suddenly serious when asked how the restaurant's food compares to high-end spots in the Big Apple.
"If you want to know my personal opinion, it's better," he said.
Source:
www.jacksonville.com (http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/020205/met_17853695.shtml)