Boston Pedicab: The Real 'Green Taxi'

Over the past five years, Bostonians have grown accustomed to the bright-colored pedicabs slowly flooding the downtown area. The drivers, leg muscles bulging, cheerfully offer rides to just about anywhere, although if you're going to Fenway Park, so much the better.

It's all gone according to plan for Boston Pedicab founder and CEO Ben Morris, who opened the now-thriving business on St. Patrick's Day in 2005. At his South End headquarters on West Concord Street, shining pedicabs can be seen lined up throughout the day, moving advertisements for local and national businesses.  

"It's been very well-accepted here," said Morris.

Running all day and all night throughout the season, Boston Pedicab has about 250,000 passengers per year – 150,000 of those people are travelling to or from Fenway Park. At the height of the season, the company employs about 70 drivers, most of whom are college and graduate students, musicians and schoolteachers.

Not Just a Taxi

But the genius of the company lies in the novelty of it.

"Nothing's competition, frankly," said Morris.

The business provides short rides from place to place and gives tours to people who don't want to pay for expensive bus or trolley tickets. Customers are told to "pay as you please" and there are no meters involved. Boston Pedicab maintains and insures the equipment, and, just like a taxi business, drivers lease the pedicabs and work for their tips.

Breaking New Ground

When Boston Pedicab first hit the streets in 2005, the city itself didn't quite know what to make of it, Morris admitted.

"We wrote the rules for the regulation," Morris said, adding that he approached lawmakers and law enforcers before helping to draft the city's pedicab policies. His business wants regulations to ensure the safety of the driver and the clientele, he said.

Growing a Company

Morris was a student at Northeastern University when he started the company, which was inspired by a pedicab service in San Diego. As he juggled school and his budding business, Morris opened up shop in the South End with five bicycles. 

Five years later, the company has expanded across the country with branches in Newport, RI, San Francisco, CA, Washington D.C. and Ft. Lauderdale. Each business operates under the mother company, USA Pedicab.

With summer now a distant memory, Boston residents will see less and less of the bicycle cabs, but have no fear: Come springtime, pedicabs will re-emerge to provide would-be pedestrians with unique transportation to their next destination.