Pedicab History in the west

[Greg]

Quote from Westword :


That changed in 1990, when, while consulting for housing developers, Meyer heard about a couple of old pedicabs that had been tooling around Aspen. "It's an appropriate technology for these kinds of environments," he says. "It's pedestrian-friendly, so you can have it in pedestrian areas, yet it helps people adapt to environments designed for cars." Since Meyer was helping to organize a pedestrian conference in Boulder with other like-minded planning professionals — the seeds of new urbanism — he borrowed the pedicabs, hired a few drivers and started a temporary operation in Boulder for the duration of the conference to see if the pedestrian-friendly system would work. It did. The vehicles turned heads on the Pearl Street Mall, so the drivers brought them to Denver, where they made so much money that they wanted to keep doing it. Meyer realized he'd hit on something. He purchased four cabs, leased them to drivers and started Main Street Pedicabs in Denver, where he thought the alternative transportation would fit in well: "Denver was already in redevelopment mode. They'd already completed the 16th Street Mall, so it had concentrated people in a certain area. But it was hard to get from point A to point B on the mall, and it was hard to get to things off the mall," he says.

[Greg]

Since 1972, "T.I.P.K.E. Pedicabs" have been the World's premier pedicab manufacturer. Our Pedicabs are renowned for the quality, durability, and comfort. Our world wide customer base testifies to our Pedicab popularity. Pedicabs provide a pleasant, safe, noiseless, and pollution free form of transportation. Pedicabs are designed for leisurely, relatively short distance trips. Pedicabs also offer a unique, exciting and profitable opportunity in the Pedicab Taxi Industry

[Greg]

46 years years ago rickshaws rolled in Seattle for the 1962
World's Fair. Century 21 was the title of the World's Fair. The fair
was to commemorate the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Expo, which put
Seattle on the map. The 1962 Fair showcased the futuristic ideas of
the 21st century. A short monorail was built. Cruise Ships were
moored on the waterfront. And some asian pedal rickshaws were imported for the Fair. Some college kids were told to go have fun with them and
ended up turning a profit. Elvis rode in one of these cabs in the
movie that I believe was called, It Happened at the Worlds Fair.

[Greg]

Tricycle History
In 1933, the tricycle known better as trishaw was born in Thailand for first time in Nakhon Radchasrima by a engineer group director, Mr. Loean Pongsopha. He did it by take a rickshaw car combine with a bicycle in to the tricycle. Later this tricycle was upgraded by adding the wheel aside. This tricycle was usually used in the South Part of Thailand.

[Greg]

It looks like there was some cabs imported from Asia for the 1962 Worlds Fair that operated for 40 years. They were not "special made" just brought for a short time. The rickshaw Elvis rode in is on display somewhere. The others keep going and going and were sold one by one in just past few years. I imagine they are still floating around somewhere.

I am just guessing at this point but maybe someone saw them and wondered if they could get some for the Expo in 1974. So, Tipke was born in 1972. It took lots of trial and error in the early days but Tipke got alot of things right. As far as I can tell unless some has different information this was the first bicycle rickshaw designed and built in the US. Anyone have a time line from Europe? Maybe from one city or another?

[Greg]

In 1914, at least 15 trishaws were first registered in Singapore with fares similar to first-class rickshaws although they were advertised as early as 1886, then promoted as Upton Park tricycle. The trishaws proved a bulkier and less manoeuvrable vehicle compared to their more primitive brother, the rickshaw. This initial batch of trishaws in 1914 were quickly taken to be sold off in Java and were soon forgotten. It was only in the late 1920s that trishaws returned to the island and its use increased with more Chinese immigrants coming to Singapore and finding that trishaw riding proved a viable occupation. As it was easier to drive and offered twice the speed of rickshaws, trishaws soon grew in popularity not only in Singapore but also in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and throughout Asia. World War II and the consequent lack of petrol fuelled the use of trishaws and thus the Japanese have often been credited with its invention. Just as the rickshaw evolved into the trishaw, the trishaw was easily motorised, becoming the jeepney or tuk-tuk in various Asian countries. In Singapore however, the motorised trishaw never took root and the trishaw remains pedal-powered to this day.

[Greg]

This could be one of the first pedal rickshas in the west. Can anyone say? Right city.

[Trixi.com]

Since 1972, "T.I.P.K.E. Pedicabs" have been the World's premier pedicab manufacturer. Our Pedicabs are renowned for the quality, durability, and comfort. Our world wide customer base testifies to our Pedicab popularity. Pedicabs provide a pleasant, safe, noiseless, and pollution free form of transportation. Pedicabs are designed for leisurely, relatively short distance trips. Pedicabs also offer a unique, exciting and profitable opportunity in the Pedicab Taxi Industry

Any 1972-T.I.P.K.E-photos available?

[Ken Cameron]

Pedicabs in Baco Raton 1972:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...+pedicab&hl=en

Pedicabs in Chicago in 1972:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...+pedicab&hl=en

[Ken Cameron]

Most of these stories com from China

Desert News - 1948: Travelog from China?
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...=pedicab&hl=en


Spokan Daily Cronicle - May 18th, 1959: Taipei pedicab drivers pull American sailor out of taxi and beat him up.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...=pedicab&hl=en

Tuscaloosa News Oct 7th, 1958 : Another travelog from China
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...=pedicab&hl=en

The Day - May 10th, 1956: Taipei pedicabs used to transport prisoners
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...=pedicab&hl=en

Sarasota Herald Tribune July 27, 1951 - : Motorized rickshaws are the new menance
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...=pedicab&hl=en

Sarasota Herald Tribune - March 25th, 1957: Pedicab driver executed after stabing taxi driver
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...=pedicab&hl=en

More of this can be found here:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch...earch+Archives