Council weighs new pedicab regulations

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin pedicab industry is booming, growing from 100 permitted drivers just five years ago, to more than 500 drivers today.

"The market has demanded it and it makes it easier to get around Downtown," said Steve Grassfield, with the city Transportation Department. "We've been concentrating on safety issues for our citizens."

The Austin City Council is looking specifically at the trailer pedicabs, which hook passenger carts to regular bicycles and are often home made.

"The city may have a problem with the way mine are constructed but I do it the same way long haul truckers and other people hook up their cabs, I just weld them on a bike," said Stephen Merritt, owner of Dirtnail Pedicab. "There a lot prettier ways to pull a cab around, but this one's not breaking."

The city council will consider new regulations when it comes to how trailers attach to bicycles at their next meeting January 17. Some have proposed the trailers be reinforced in a manner approved by the city.

"We know exactly who has trailers," said Grassfield. "There's about five companies that have trailers so what we'll do in July is actually go to each one of the companies and go through this safety inspection process, like you would do with a car."

One pedicab company owner told KXAN many pedicab trailer owners already comply with standards that would be imposed by the city, but new standards could be costly for those who do not, especially in light of new requirements already approved for braking systems. Council said traditional hand brakes are not longer enough for trailer pedicabs and drivers must now install disc brakes "or the equivalent" by July 2013.

"The issue right now is if they do the braking systems, I'm perfectly fine to comply with that we all agreed in a meeting, but I don't want them to turn around and a year later and be like- now trailers are outlawed after I just spent all my capital to convert my trailers to make them safer," said Merritt.

That is something the city has discussed, said Grassfield. Right now, 115 of the 500 permitted Austin pedicabs are trailers.

"There have been discussions about moving completely to trikes which are manufactured, where trailers typically are made by individuals," Grassfield said.

If the new regulations pass, safety inspections would begin in July of 2013.