Modern rickshaws still could join downtown Las Vegas scene

Some downtown Las Vegas business owners are still unsure about pedicabs or rickshaws sharing downtown city streets with other modes of transportation.

A Las Vegas City Council committee delayed for the second time this month taking action on an ordinance that would allow pedicabs and pedal buses to take passengers on some downtown city streets, as city staffers, downtown business owners and would-be pedicab operators try to reach an agreement on the language.

“Our major, major concern is the loading zone,” said Mike Nolan, representing the El Cortez and the Fremont East Entertainment District, at a committee meeting last week. “I think there has to be a staging area, either public, private or some combination.”

Russell Davis’ two pedal buses are already rolling about downtown, allowing groups of people to pedal themselves from pub to pub with a guide. That’s considered a special event in city code, and the proposed change would recognize it as a business.

The apparent sticking point centers on the pedicabs, wheeled, human pedal-powered vehicles that pull passengers in a carriage, and how they would fit in downtown Las Vegas.

Nolan acknowledged that pedicabs could be an interesting addition to downtown transportation and said he has used them in other cities, but said the concern is about pulling out onto Fremont Street and on downtown streets that already only have one lane in either direction.

As they’re written now, the draft regulations would allow for up to 30 pedicabs and pedal buses total in downtown Las Vegas, among all companies.

Right now, that includes Davis’ pedal bus company and three companies interested in either starting up or expanding into downtown Las Vegas.

Kyle Felleman and his business partner put into motion about three years ago Las Vegas Rickshaw, and have built 10 custom pedicabs that are sitting in a storage unit as the city regulations that would allow pedicabs are as-yet not approved. Felleman was at the committee meeting and voiced some frustration with the delays in the process — he has been reluctant to get into a brick-and-mortar space for the business, and is paying for a storage unit to house the pedicabs in the meantime, he said.

The pedicabs were built to fit within downtown bike lanes, and the peddling drivers will be able to fit up to three people in each carriage. The vehicles have been outfitted with blinkers, headlights and Bluetooth stereos, Felleman said.

There’s also a removable top, which Felleman likens to a boat bimini, that will cover passengers and the driver during the day, and can be taken off at night. Felleman said that heat is a concern for drivers, and he doesn’t want people to be out giving rides if the heat is going to be detrimental to their health, he said.

The key in Phoenix, where a number of pedicab operators ferry passengers to sporting events, concerts and more, is “sunblock and lots of water,” said Tony Rivera, the owner and operations manager of Phoenix Pedicabs.

Rivera has reserved the name Las Vegas Pedicabs to expand here. He brought some pedicabs to Las Vegas a little more than a year ago as a pilot program and applied for a business license with the city, but pedicabs still weren’t allowed in city code at that point.

Rivera is concerned about a provision in the Las Vegas ordinance that requires pedicab companies to take out a $5 million excess umbrella insurance policy, on top of comprehensive general public liability insurance. The umbrella policy is above and beyond what’s required in other major cities with established pedicab operations, which would more than double the insurance premium, Rivera said.

“That’s an overwhelming expense in a virgin market,” Rivera said.

Bumblebee Pedi-Cab also operates in Phoenix and owner Stanley Brown wants to expand into Las Vegas, something he’s been working on for about two years, he said.

Representatives for the Fremont Street Experience and the D, the city of Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming and Las Vegas Rickshaw said this week they’re getting closer on an agreeable compromise, but they need another month to continue to work on it.

The issue will return to the City Council’s Recommending Committee Oct. 17.

Russell Rowe, who was at the committee meeting representing Boyd Gaming, said Main Street is a specific concern.

“There’s not a place for a pedicab to ride other than in the lanes,” Rowe said. “There’s real concern with respect to that and we want to make sure this is done properly.”

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.