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Pedicabs Might Be Coming To Hollywood And San Pedro
A pedicab in Santa Monica. (Photo courtesy of L.A. Bike Taxi)
Get ready, Hollywood and San Pedro: pedicabs—those bicycle-powered taxis you see everywhere in San Diego that have just recently begun to flourish in Santa Monica—might be coming to your parts of town.
Councilman Tom LaBonge, chair of the Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee, has commissioned a team to look into the possibility of having pedicabs in Hollywood and San Pedro, City News Service reports. The plan is in its infancy, and the report from the team is expected back in 60 days (the report was initially due yesterday, but a staff shortage postponed it), but the thought of having pedicabs in Hollywood sounds interesting.
The "pilot program," meaning test run, of pedicabs in the Hollywood area was first introduced last year by then-councilman and now mayor Eric Garcetti, so the plan has been in motion for a good while now. Pedicabs were also in Westwood for a couple of years, but ended up failing. Councilman Joe Buscaino, who represents San Pedro, added his town to the plan yesterday, CNS reports.
Pedicabs are seen as a greener alternative to congested areas where traffic jams are clogging up local streets. Bike advocate Cynthia Rose told the L.A. Times that pedicabs are part of a "movement toward a more sustainable city with active, mobile transportation."
At least one pedicab company in the area will most likely be jumping at the opportunity to expand into Hollywood. L.A Bike Taxi founder Jose Prats told The Santa Monica Mirror last year that Hollywood would be a prime location for pedicab services to thrive.
If all goes as planned, expect to see more pedicab drivers with gnarly farmer's tans shuttling tourists around Hollywood and Highland.
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