Trib: New Pittsburgh Pedicabs service pedaling rides around town


One of the new Green Gears Pedicabs in front of the OTB Bicycle Cafe on East Carson St

Adam Brandolph
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Paul Kletter is ready for the daily grind on the gritty streets of Pittsburgh.

Kletter, 28, of Beechview is the owner of Green Gears Pedicabs, a taxi service of bicycle-pulled carriages — think rickshaws — that began operating three weeks ago in select neighborhoods throughout the city.

“I wanted to eliminate emissions pollution and give city residents a cheaper, cleaner, more-efficient method of transportation,” he said. “I wanted to give the city a fun commuting tool.”

“It shows how popular cycling is and how important it is to start to cut down on climate-change gas emissions,” said Scott Bricker, executive director of Bike Pittsburgh

A 2004 West Virginia University graduate, Kletter spent a year traveling through southeast Asia, where he was first introduced to pedicabs. He launched the operation here March 14 by offering free rides at the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
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1 Comment

  • ridley says:
    04/15/2009 at 2:22pm

    The Bike Czar Speaks (Sort Of)

    From Diana Nelson Jones’ “Walkabout” Post-Gazette blog

    Apr 07 2009
    Walk and ye shall receive

    Yesterday, (in the post below) I wrote that Prevention magazine failed to recognize Pittsburgh’s merits in its 2008 Top Ten list of great walking cities.

    Today, we have learned that Prevention’s 2009 list is out and the ‘burgh is No. 10. The reason given for our inclusion was that last year, the city appointed its a first-ever pedestrian and bicycling coordinator. Stephen Patchan, an urban planner and a cyclist, was hired last August.

    We sprung the Top Ten news to him this afternoon, evoking the response, “That’s awesome.” To quote him further, he asked that we get permission from the mayor’s office. Stay tuned for more from Stephen once we clear the quote police.

    This year’s Top 10 are San Francisco, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, Honolulu, Portland, Ore., and Pittsburgh.

    For more information, visit http://www.prevention.com/cities/

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