Pedicabs offer students alternate ride home

It's 11 p.m. at Ivy Hall Apartments and the life of the party has just arrived. Rolling into the parking lot, music blaring, lights flashing, senior Chris Banker doesn't even have to work for attention. 

"Give me a ride, baby!" shouts a girl from across the courtyard. 

"Where you going, baby girl?" Banker replies. "I don't give creep rides, I give safe rides."

Banker works as a pedicab driver for College Taxi, one of the two new pedicab companies to appear in Newark this fall. College Taxi and its competitor, Green Rides, emerged onto the Newark scene in the weeks following the start of the semester, offering students an alternative way to get around campus on weekends.

Junior Ross Sylvester, owner of College Taxi, said he got the idea for the company over the summer when talking with his friend, co-owner Will Salus, a junior at Miami University in Ohio, about a entertaining taxi service that could be marketed toward college campuses.

The original plan was to buy vintage cars and paint them yellow to create unique taxi cabs, but that idea quickly fell through, Sylvester said.

"To actually pull that off with the maintenance and the gas and everything, it just wasn't a feasible option. We all kind of decided that a pedicab option was so much more green," he said. "It was the same concept, there was nothing that much different than the fact that this one wouldn't need  cars, wouldn't need gas. The idea was just so much better."

Matt Greenberg, 29, of Newark and his brother, Sean Hague, 43, of North Wilmington, said that they also came up with the idea for their pedicab service, Green Rides, while brainstorming this summer. 

"I thought there was a major need for it in Newark, especially with Public Safety cutting back their budget by not helping out the community with giving rides to students to get home safe when they're in need," Greenberg said. "It's all about having fun, providing the service and being safe."

Greenberg said the company operates Thursday through Saturday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.—the time frame when a cab ride would be most convenient to students looking for a night out on the town. 

Greenberg said what makes Green Rides unique is the affordability it provides to college students.

"What is cool about Green Rides is there's really no set fare," he said. "It's a gratuity based cab service, so it's whatever the rider thinks is fair for the ride. That's how we roll."

College Taxi, on the other hand, said  while it was still in the works of ironing out the details, fares would most likely be set by the drivers, and riders would be encouraged to tip above that, Sylvester said.

He said the drivers pay $45 to the company to rent the cabs for the night and then the drivers keep everything they make; fares and tips.

Both Banker and Sylvester said distance is usually the deciding factor for the fares' cost, but it also depends on whether the route is up hill or downhill.

Both companies said they had to obtain city permits for their businesses and all of the pedicab drivers must have vaid driver licenses.

College Taxi will also most likely operate Thursday through Saturday from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., Sylvester said, with a few hours possibly added on select weeknights.

College Taxi is also looking into offering its services during the daylight hours on football game days or as a mobile coffee shop on typical weekends, he said.

"I'm going to move some of it to vendor standpoint on Saturday and Sunday mornings and maybe see if the market is there to sell Gatorades and waters and coffee out of the back of the cabs," Sylvester said. "Kind of like a hangover recipe for kids when they're walking back."

Both Banker and Greenberg said while pedicabs are a lot of fun, they are also a lot of work.

"This is the toughest cardio workout. It's a shock to my system every Friday and Saturday," Banker said. "By Sunday I can barely move, but I'm getting paid to work out, so that's a plus."

Greenberg said despite having an electric assist on the pedicabs that add a burst of power, the riding is still strenuous.

"It will definitely tighten you up really quick, as I have noticed and my wife has noticed, so it's going pretty good," he said jokingly.

Despite having two pedicab businesses in town, both owners of the companies said they weren't concerned with having competition.

"We wish those guys well," Hague said. "We think there's plenty for everybody in town."

Sylvester agreed.

"We don't mind it," Sylvester said. "For our company it makes us work harder. It definitely gives you a drive, instead of just saying ‘Okay there's no one else doing this, let's just be lackluster about it.'"

Sylvester also said being a college student gives him a welcome advantage over the competition.

 "I'm a student. I'm no different than anyone else that goes to this university," he said. "I sit next to most of the kids that ride this pedicab service. We're really just geared towards offering a service for students by students."

Freshman Zac Tolliver said his first experience with pedicabs was in Dewey Beach, and he is happy to see the idea brought to Newark.

"This is such a classic college campus," Tolliver said. "Everybody walks everywhere, so if you can get a ride it's just so much easier. It's a little bumpy but it's so much better than walking."

Junior Jena Leavens said while convenience was an appealing factor in the pedicabs, safety was the primary concern for students deciding to take a pedicab ride.

"I think people who need a safe ride would rather get on a bike than in an enclosed, fast-moving car," Leavens said.

She said that while she has never taken a pedicab ride, she would consider doing so in the future.

 "I feel like I would trust the people riding the bikes," Leavens said.