Peabody Trishaw Senior Mobility Project Hits Huge Milestone

PEABODY, MA —It was way back in the months leading up to the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis in 2020 when Peabody resident Carol White began her efforts to bring trishaws to the community as a way to help seniors feel the outdoor freedom and sensation of moving through the city's trails and bike paths.

After a pandemic pause, White re-engaged her efforts in earnest in 2021 and, two years later, recently purchased her first trishaw as part of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Cycling Without Age Massachusetts.

"I am very excited and have been doing a lot of short rides around the neighborhood
showing it off and giving my neighbors rides," she told Patch. "The positive feedback is absolutely wonderful. Who doesn't want 'The Right to Wind in Your Hair?'"

The trishaw includes a seat at the front of a bike where those with mobility issues can be safely pedaled about on clear paths and secure areas. Some trishaws include a canopy to help protect passengers from the sun or other harsh weather conditions.

The trishaw — which resembles a reverse rickshaw with the seat in the front instead of the back of the bike — is popular in Europe and other parts of the country.

In 2021, White began the mission to raise the $12,000 to $16,000 necessary to buy a trishaw from a Warwick, R.I. bike shop that imports them from the Netherlands.

Now she is hoping to make Peabody residents familiar with the program and ultimately raise more money for additional trishaws with more trained drivers.

White's original inspiration for the trishaws came from wanting to give her mother, Lois, a way to experience the outdoors while at the Jeffrey & Susan Brudnick Center for Living in Peabody. While her mother passed away in September 2021, White said she wanted to continue the project as a way to honor her and brighten the lives of others in elderly housing.

"We hope to name the first trishaw after her," White said. "She would have loved to be the first to
take a ride, but I know she is thrilled that I am still pursuing this. My mom had so many visitors because she had quite a network of family and friends, but most of the people that I experienced at her facility were isolated and shut in most of the time."

White is planning a showcase on Sept. 30 in the afternoon at the Peabody Bike Path, weather permitting.

"Anyone who wants a short ride is welcome to come check us out. We hope to continue demonstrating each Saturday until we can't in the hopes of drumming up interest from the community," she said.

White said the program's collections go solely toward the purchase of new trishaws and that the remainder of the program is strictly volunteer. There is a GoFundMe for the program here and donations can be made through Venmo at @CAROL-WHITE-37.

White has been trained as a trishaw pilot and with additional purchases she said she will be looking for volunteers to be trained as well to help with the rides.

"It's a truly wonderful program that is so needed in the community," she said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)