Drawing Pedicabs Out of Illegality

Bicitaxis await passengers near Los Martires Plaza.

The administration of Mayor Peñalosa is working on a long-needed plan to enable the city's thousands of pedicabs to operate legally.

The pedicabs carry out an important service, carrying commuters short distances from places like

A row of pedicabs in Los Martires.

TransMilenio stations a few blocks or kilometers to their workplaces and then back again. But, until now, they have done so in an unregulated netherworld where they are neither legal nor illegal.

Yes, even outside the law, the cabs represent income for thousands of people and perform a valuable service for commuters.

But the legalization of the pedicabs has long been opposed by the taxi lobby, which considers them competition.

Pedicab drivers complain that police sometimes stop them from working and even confiscate their cabs.

Legalizing the cabs and formalizing their work is a good idea - but should be done gradually and carefully. After all, these people work outside the law for a reason: they don't want to bother with rules and regulations. Also, the bicitaxi drivers are generally poor, unsophisticated men, who won't find it easy conforming to bureaucratic standards, even if they try to. They will need support, and probably subsidies, to conform to the law.

The city wants all pedicabs to follow routes and use designated parking areas; they are also to carry insurance, submit to periodic safety checks, have a driver's license and belong to a pedicab company. In addition, the law prohibits gasoline-powered pedicabs, which have become common in recent years. The vehicles must be either pedal or electric-powered.

Will the great majority of the pedicabers decide that becoming legal is less of a burden than continuing to battle the police? Only time will tell. But if they do not, then the city will find itself back where it started.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Pedicabers Protest For Their Right To Pedal

Colorful pedicabs lined up in front of the Palacio de Justicia on Plaza Bolivar. 

The other day, Plaza Bolivar's look changed more radically than it has since the zorreros protested, as hundreds of pedicab drivers occupied the square demanding their right to work. 

Two pedicab drivers. 

In fact, thousands of pedicabs, called bicitaxis, operate throughout Bogotá, carrying passengers on short trips, often less than a mile, between TransMilenio stations and nearby destinations. The pedicabs are a cheap, efficient, non-polluting transport mode which cause little congestion - in particular, because they often combine passengers who arrive separately, something normal taxis can't do. 

Dozens of pedicabs and their drivers in front of Congress. 

Ideal, right? Except that the pedicabs are technically illegal. Their drivers complain that police sometimes harass them and even confisticate their vehicles.

The only explanation I've been able to get for this perverse situation is the political pressure from conventional taxi drivers, who see the pedicabs as a threat. Perhaps they are, altho only in a very minor, limited way. But city leaders need to defy the taxistas lobby and do what's best for the city by legalizing and supporting the pedicabs. In addition to issues of transit and serving the public, the pedicab drivers are poor men with very limited skills and education. If they lose their way of life, many families will likely go hungry. 

Pedaling across the plaza. 

Transit officials on two wheels look over the protest march, which also included many other organizations. 

A late arrival pedals up. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogota Bike Tours

The Bicitaxistas Fight for their Right to Pedal!

They're quick, agile, quiet, non-polluting and inexpensive. Sounds like the perfect vehicle, right? Right.

But not if you drive a traditional polluting taxicab and believe they're taking away your business.

Thousands of bicitaxis - pedal-powered rickshaws which can carry two or three passengers in back - work in Bogotá, carrying passengers for short distances. However, as a recent El Tiempo story pointed out, they're all illegal. 

It's insane. A city with terrible and worsening traffic congestion and lots of pollution prohibits clean transport. But it's not surprising, considering that the regular taxi drivers pack a political wallop and want to protect their turf. This is despite the bicitaxistas' argument that they don't compete much with auto-taxis, since they carry people only short distances, rarely more than a dozen blocks.

All of which is irrelevant, anyway. The bicitaxis are less expensive, maybe faster and non-polluting. They deserve to run the polluting machines out of business.

Instead, the city has managed to call the 'solution' a 'problem.'

Pity the poor bicitaxista. He works 12 hours a day, one tells me, and can take in about 30 - 40,000 pesos. But, if his taxi is rented, about 15,000 of that goes to the owner, leaving him only some $8 to $13 for a day's sweating. Income depends on factors like the weather, mechanical troubles, and the day of the week.

The bicitaxistas also have to contend with the police, who sometimes confiscate their pedicabs, requiring a 200,000 peso retrieval charge from  
patios. A new bicitaxi costs about two million pesos.

But, as difficult and low-paid as it is, the bicitaxis provide jobs for many people who, because of their age, life history or lack of skills, can't find other kinds of work.

Armando, who has pedaled a bicitaxi for almost a decade near the Plaza de los Martires in central Bogotá, says that about 60 bicitaxistas work in the area, carrying passengers primarily between the Transmilenio station and the San Andresitos shops as far as a dozen blocks west.

Reduce pollution - ban the bicitaxis!

The bicitaxis don't pollute or make noise, Armando points out, and they can often zig zag their way through traffic. He acknowledges that in an accident a bicitaxi is more vulnerable than a car, but points out a bicitaxi can often leave its passenger on their doorstep, protecting them from street crime.

And, they charge much less than a polluting taxi - just 1,000 pesos to carry someone 12 blocks. And, they do something regular taxis don't - they carry together people who arrive separately, meaning less expensive and more efficient transport for everyone.

Armando blames authorities' resistance to legalizing the bicitaxis on the drivers of regular, polluting taxis. But he says the bicitaxistas are organizing and lobbying politicians. They've even blocked the nearby Transmilenio line to get attention.

"We keep on growing," he says of their numbers.

But the city's close-minded policies, controlled by vested interests, are blind to the bicitaxis' advantages.

By Mike Ceaser of Bogotá Bike Tours 

Overwhelmed by traffic jams? Ban the bicitaxis!