Chattanooga Doesn’t Trust Adults to Peddle You Across a Bridge in Enormous Tricycles

The
Chattanooga Times Free Press published an editorial
obituary for a
pedicab company killed by regulations this week.

Buzz Chattanooga was supposed to schlep people around the Scenic
City in the backs of oversized tricycles. Christian “Thor” Thoreson
and his partner Christina Holmes hoped the company would appeal to
official hoping to boost tourism and minimize drunk driving and
congestion. They jumped through a bunch of hoops to get the
business off the ground. 

The city ordinance limited the number of pedicab permits
available, capping the number of pedicabs serving Chattanooga to
just six. Each pedicab permit requires a $100 fee.

Those six pedicabs have to be outfitted with a horn, a rearview
mirror, headlights, taillights and turn signal.

Pedicab drivers are required to go through an intensive
licensing process by the city, including passing a test given
through the Chattanooga Police Department Regulatory Bureau
Transportation Inspector’s office, as well as being subjected to a
drug screening and a background search.

City regulations don’t allow pedicabs to cruise for passengers —
they must remain parked and wait for customers. Strangely, even
though cars often come much closer, pedicabs must stay at least 10
feet away from horse-drawn carriages. The vehicles also can’t be
operated in public parks.

But there was one rule so silly that they were sure they could
convince the city council to make an exception:

Sec. 35-251(3) of the Chattanooga City Code states that a
“pedicab driver shall not operate a pedal carriage or pedicab on
any bridge or in any tunnel.”

The rule was designed to prevent dangerous situations at high
speeds in cramped space. But Buzz mostly wanted access to
the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge where the stakes are
considerably lower so that they could ferry passengers to all parts
of the city. No dice, said Chattanooga.

Just a couple of months ago, Buzz owners were posting
happy, overly long videos celebrating their one year
anniversary. But now they’ve changed their tune:

Asked what he’d tell another entrepreneur considering starting a
business in Chattanooga, Thoreson replied, “Stay the hell away.

This week, they decided to throw in the towel. 

2012-08-23 15:17:04

Source: http://reason.com/blog/2012/08/23/chattanooga-doesnt-trust-adults-to-peddl