Rickshaw Operation Snuffed Out In LA

Downtown LA is one huge nightmare for motorists. Traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emission are just some of the problems on the streets of Los Angeles. That's why businessman Mike Echols though he would be helping the city if he operates 30 or so rickshaws near Staples Center. But no, the Department of Transportation snuffed out his idea even after positive feedbacks from different community sectors.

Actually, the shutting down of a rickshaw service of Mr. Echols is the second time that such a thing happened in just two months. It was Eric Green, a Downtown hotel doorman whose rickshaw business was shut down first. That happened in late August. The reason why the DOT prohibited Green from operating what he class the "Green Machine" is the contraption's safety. Meanwhile, Echols' MagiCab Express was shut down because the DOT argues that pedicabs are not licensed by the city.

Echols said that the idea of operating pedicabs in downtown Los Angeles came to him about four years ago. "I was going to a Lakers game and I was late," recalled Echols. "I said, there has to be a quicker way to get to Staples Center from the parking lot."

He then started a mission to make his dream of operating pedicabs in the city a possibility. The enterprising Echols found a board order which have the city's Transportation Commission way back in 1986. It covers different requirements for pedicabs to comply with to be able to operate within the city. Echols assumed that other pedicabs services have been shut down because they have never checked with the city's transportation-sanctioning body. Thus, he started his business with much research on the legislations being enforced in the city.

Unfortunately for him, the DOT still snuffed his plan to establish a pedicab transport system on the congested streets of Los Angeles. It seems that the DOT would rather have Mitsubishi alternator-equipped vehicles and other makes of automobile running on the streets of Los Angeles than eco-friendly pedicabs.