Portland Cascadia Pedicabs, is
concerned about new regulations.
(Photo © J. Maus)
-Video below-
The City of Portland is currently in the process of updating their “private for hire transportation” policies. As part of this update, and partially at the request of local pedicab operators, they will also be regulating pedicabs for the first time.
The growth of pedicabs has skyrocketed in Portland in recent years in large part due to new businesses like PDX Pedicabs and Portland Cascadia Pedicabs.
Ryan Hashagen, owner of Portland Cascadia Pedicabs, is all for new regulations. He wants pedicabs to be treated as legitimate businesses and he wants customers to know they’ll be assured a safe ride. Hashagen knows all to well about the importance of safety. In August of 2008 one of his Seattle-based pedicabs was involved in a crash that left a 60-year old man dead.
However, Hashagen is very concerned that the city’s proposed regulations will effectively kill his business (and that of other pedicab operators). Hashagen contends that they were written by “auto-centric interests” and that they are based more on an interest in generating revenue (through licensing fees) than by safety concerns. Hashagen has been making the rounds to the local media and he has become an outspoken critic of the way the city has handled the issue thus far.
He stopped by our office today and I asked him to share more about his concerns. Watch the video interview below.
We’ll have more on this story as it develops.