Rickshaws are used in numerous cities in Europe and North America, primarily for their novelty value as an entertaining form of transportation for tourists and locals. However, they also have environmental benefits and may be quicker than other forms of transport if traffic congestion is high. Various laws regulate their use in different areas.

A global concept

Cycle rickshaw

Cycle rickshaw

The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport; it is also known by a variety of other names such as velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, cyclo, becak, trisikad, or trishaw or, simply, rickshaw which also refers to auto rickshaws, and the, now uncommon, rickshaws pulled by a person on foot...

s are used in most large European cities, such as London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and Dublin. London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 boasts one of the largest numbers of pedicabs, that are mostly based in Soho

Soho

Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...

, Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

 near tourist attractions and nightlife. In North America, San Diego and New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 each host hundreds of pedicabs; dozens of other North American cities also have pedicab services. Kabuki Kabs, Victoria. The first known commercial use of pedicabs in North America occurred in 1962 at the Seattle Worlds Fair. There are several American and European manufacturers of cycle rickshaws, which often incorporate features not found in developing world vehicles, such as hydraulic

Hydraulics

Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...

 disc brake

Disc brake

The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...

s, lightweight fibreglass

Fiberglass

Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...

 bodies, and multispeed gear

Gear

A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....

s.

In American cities such as New York, human powered transport is available as an environmentally friendly means of transit. Local residents in New York City, however, view pedicabs primarily as tourist vehicles due to their high fares and their drivers' aggressive sales pitches to pedestrians. At a rate of $5 plus $1 per block per person, a 20-block (one mile) pedicab ride for two people will cost $50. In a taxicab, the same ride would cost under $10. According to Peter Meitzler of New York's Manhattan Rickshaw Company, a passenger has an entirely different urban experience when one rides in a rickshaw. He says that he uses the word "rickshaw" in his company name because it is internationally known.

Rickshaws or Pedicabs as they are also known, have been operating on the streets of London for over 7 years in and around the West End, Soho, Covent Garden and Leicester Square areas. They are also common in the centre of Edinburgh, mostly as a novelty tourist transportation method.

Cities in North America where pedicabs are in operation

• Albuquerque, New Mexico
  Albuquerque, New Mexico
  Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
  
  
• Austin, Texas
  Austin, Texas
  Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
  
  
• Bellingham, Washington
  Bellingham, Washington
  Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
  
  
• Burlington, Vermont
  Burlington, Vermont
  Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
  
  
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Charleston, South Carolina
  Charleston, South Carolina
  Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
  
  
• Charlotte, North Carolina
  Charlotte, North Carolina
  Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
  
  
• Chicago, Illinois
• Chico, California
  Chico, California
  Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
  
  
• Columbus, Ohio
  Columbus, Ohio
  Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
  
  
• Corvallis, Oregon
  Corvallis, Oregon
  Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
  
  
• Denver, Colorado
  Denver, Colorado
  The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
  
  
• El Paso, Texas
  El Paso, Texas
  El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
  
  
• Eugene, Oregon
  Eugene, Oregon
  Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
  
  
• Key West, Florida
  Key West, Florida
  Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
  
  
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
  
  
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
  
  
• Houston, Texas
  Houston, Texas
  Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
  
  
• Indianapolis, Indiana
  Indianapolis, Indiana
  Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
  
  
• Lawrence, Kansas
  Lawrence, Kansas
  Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
  
  
• Madison, Wisconsin
  Madison, Wisconsin
  Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
  
  
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
  
  
• New Orleans, Louisiana
  New Orleans, Louisiana
  New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
  
  
• New York, New York
• Newport, Rhode Island
  Newport, Rhode Island
  Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
  
  
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
  
  
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
  
  
• Phoenix, Arizona
  Phoenix, Arizona
  Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
  
  
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
  
  
• Portland, Oregon
  Portland, Oregon
  Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
  
  
• Raleigh, North Carolina
  Raleigh, North Carolina
  Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
  
  
• Rochester, New York
  Rochester, New York
  Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
  
  
• Saint Paul, Minnesota
  Saint Paul, Minnesota
  Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
  
  
• Salt Lake City, Utah
  Salt Lake City, Utah
  Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
  
  
• San Diego, California
  San Diego, California
  San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
  
  
• San Jose, California
  San Jose, California
  San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
  
  
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
  Santa Fe, New Mexico
  Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
  
  
• Savannah, Georgia
  Savannah, Georgia
  Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
  
  
• Seattle, Washington
  Seattle, Washington
  Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
  
  
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• Virginia Beach, Virginia
  Virginia Beach, Virginia
  Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
  
  
• Victoria, British Columbia
  Victoria, British Columbia
  Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
  
  
• Washington, DC

Cities in North America where pedicabs are regulated

• Orlando, Florida
  Orlando, Florida
  Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
  
   - license to own and/or operate a pedicab must be obtained from the Orlando Police Department
• Gainesville, Florida
  Gainesville, Florida
  Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
  
  
• San Diego, California
  San Diego, California
  San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
  
   - license to own and operate are required, including background checks
• Boston, Massachusetts - Boston Police Department regulates the proliferation of pedicabs. Pedicab companies and drivers must register with the city of Boston.
• Tampa, Florida
  Tampa, Florida
  Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
  
   - City required permits
• Austin, Texas
  Austin, Texas
  Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
  
   - Drivers are required to be licensed by city Ground Transportation department, driving and criminal background checks required. Companies must be registered with city and carry liability insurance. Pedicabs must be registered, and inspected.
• Washington, DC
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
  
   - Companies are required to hold and annually renew business, tax license and insurance. All rickshaws are inspected annually by city inspector, required to display a carriage license with vehicle capacity. Drivers are required to obtain a carriage drivers license from the city department of licensing and registration, upon verification of drivers history check, criminal background check, and physical.
• Toronto, Ontario
• Vancouver, British Columbia - Regulations remain in place since being placed during Expo '86, during which over seventy trikes were in operation by several hundred riders. Regulations include restrictions for certain main streets and areas and require hydraulic brakes, turn signals, drivers' licensing and mandatory insurance.
• Kansas City, Missouri
  Kansas City, Missouri
  Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
  
   -Companies are required to hold and annually renew business, tax license and insurance. All rickshaws are inspected annually by city inspector, required to display a carriage license with vehicle capacity. Drivers are required to obtain a carriage drivers license from the city department of licensing and registration, upon verification of drivers history check, criminal background check, and physical.
• New York City
  New York City
  New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
  
  
• Indianapolis, Indiana
  Indianapolis, Indiana
  Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
  
  
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
  
   - City ordinance requiring that companies pay annual licensing fee, carry insurance, set equipment standards, and also that hours and locations of operation and driver and passenger behavior are regulated.
• Denver, Colorado
  Denver, Colorado
  The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
  
   - Companies are required to hold business, tax license and insurance and are subject to inspections by the Traffic Engineer. All drivers are required to obtain a pedal cab operators license from the Office of Excise and License. Pedal cabs are allowed to operate anywhere in Denver County except for certain daytime restrictions. Sport and event centers, such as Invesco Field and the Pepsi Center, set their own rules for where on the property pedal cabs can operate and usually restrict their access to working one entrance.

Cities in North America where pedicabs are prohibited

• Las Vegas, Nevada
  Las Vegas, Nevada
  Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
  
   - banned from "The Strip
  Las Vegas Strip
  The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
  
  ," and effectively from Clark County, where drivers must carry insurance and may not charge fares
• Whistler, British Columbia
  Whistler, British Columbia
  Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...
  
  - pedicabs and bicycles are prohibited from operating in the resort village's many pedestrian areas, and are banned from the Valley Trail system which is congested with rental tandems and bicycles with baby trailers; pedicab operation limited to shoulders of service roads and in parking lots.