What is a Pedicab?

Pedicabs come in many different shapes and sizes, and their design and appearance often differ significantly around the world.  However, the general design of most pedicabs is tricycle-like.  There are two versions of the tricycle-style pedicab.  The first version – often called the rickshaw-style – consists of a pedicab with one wheel on the front where the driver pedals and two wheels on the back where the passengers sit.  The second version of the tricycle pedicab – often called the cyclo – allows the passengers to ride in front over the two wheels, while the driver sits in the back and pedals over the single wheel.

Standard Tricycle Style Pedicab – Image Source: pdxpedicab

Reverse Tricycle Style Pedicab – Image Source: pedalpeople

Other less common types of pedicabs include the quadracycle or bicycles with bike trailers that can accommodate passengers.  In general, most pedicab designs place the passengers over the longest axle of the pedicab (usually between two parallel wheels), while the driver maintains control of the pedicab with the drive-train and handlebars over the short axle.  There are many different pedicab manufacturers throughout the world, although there are no construction standards for building pedicabs, so choose your ride wisely.  At the same time, many cities or other areas have taken it upon themselves to impose some pedicab standards and regulations.

Quadracycle Style Pedicab – Image Source: quadracycleinc

Bike Trailer Style Pedicab – Image Source: Da Kine Pedicabs

Pedicabs are also outfitted and decorated in many different ways.  For example, some pedicabs provide a covered awning over the passengers, while others leave you to the elements.  Lately, pedicabs are getting a more modern, aerodynamic-looking design and some have even started to look like small vehicles.

Image Source: Streetsblog

Pedicab History

Rickshaws, which are carts pulled by a person on foot, have been around since the 1800’s and were especially common throughout Asia.  The cycle rickshaw began to appear sometime later in the 1920’s and also in Asia.  Slowly, the cycle rickshaw replaced the cart-style rickshaw, as they were somewhat safer, more efficient, and easier on the driver.  For more on pedicab history, check out Pop’s Pedicabs, where a great review can be found.

Pedicab Uses

First and foremost, pedicabs are used for transportation.  Although, due to the versatile nature and sturdy design of many pedicabs, they can certainly be used for bike delivery purposes, as well.  Pedicabs also provide a unique and highly visible forum for bike advertising, as the wide area of the passenger seat compartment is perfect for advertising banners.

Advertising Via Pedicab – Image Source: YellowBikeCab

Pedicab Riders

It’s important to spend a few minutes talking about who actually uses pedicabs.  More often than not, pedicabs are associated with tourism or special events.  And in many places, this is certainly the case.  As my experience in San Deigo – surrounded by literally hundreds of pedicabs – might suggest, riding in a pedicab is certainly seen as a recreational activity.  The main bulk of the pedicabs there stayed close to the tourist areas of Seaport Village, Harbor Drive, and downtown San Diego.  I did not see a single pedicab outside of these areas.  However, in other places in the U.S., such as New York City, pedicabs are used more frequently for commuting and transportation around the city.  And in many places outside of the U.S., pedicabs are one of the most efficient forms of transportation in heavily congested cities, where sitting in traffic in a car can be unbearable.

At the same time, there have been lots of recent murmurs about the dangers of pedicabs, what with some bad crashes and accidents lately in NYC and other places.  Even so, it seems pointless to argue that a few pedicab accidents should discredit the whole industry, when there are plenty of other kinds of transportation accidents all the time.

Overall, pedicabs are an eco-friendly, utilitarian form of transportation for getting around urban environments.  They certainly have limitations, but for short trips, they are the perfect solution for getting off your own feet or legs for a bit and still going by bike.

Advertising

Advertising is essentially the art of persuasion.  Persuasion to purchase a particular product, use a specific kind of service, act a certain kind of way, and so forth.  Advertising in its purest form is intended to get people to buy something (as consumers) or buy into something (such as a political party).  At the same time, advertising is much more than the simple act of persuasion.  Wrapped up in advertising are all kinds of social and cultural norms, which convey commonly accepted ideas about the kinds of things being advertised.  Therefore, advertising can be to clearly advertise particular products or ideas, but it can also convey all kinds more subtle messages beneath the surface.

For example, the advertisement in a videos below, which I saw at Cyclelicio.us, depicts a race between a cyclist and a driver in a Mercedes. Oddly enough, the cyclist wins the race, but MercedesBenzTV does not miss the opportunity to talk a little trash about cyclist behaviors (in this case, breaking traffic laws). The ad is a great example of the power of advertising and the social norms wrapped up in the ads we are exposed to.

Bike Advertising

If one accepts that advertising can be used to do more than just advertise the product for which a particular advertisement has been generated, than bike advertising (or bikevertising) can be used in a positive manner to encourage the idea of cycling, in general.  Conversely, advertising can also be used negatively…or neutrally, as well.  But I would argue that when people see an advertisement moving around via bicycle, this will have some kind of an impact on their perception of cycling, though what that impact is exactly could be hard to pin down.  Although the products being advertised by bike might not have anything to do with cycling, the simple act of advertising by bicycle, will, in a sense, advertise cycling in a positive light (hopefully), as well.When I refer to bike advertising, I mean a form of advertisement, which explicitly uses the bicycle to transport the advertisement itself.  In Wikipedia verbage, this would fall under the category of a non-motorized mobile billboard, which is a moving advertisement that is not motor-powered.  Bicycle advertising is commonly undertaken by the vendors themselves, who use their employees to power the bike.  Conversely, some bike advertisers get paid by businesses for the advertising space and time spent riding around with the advertisement.

Naturally, some of the benefits of bike advertising are related to the maneuverability of bicycles in crowded or congested environments.  Bike advertising is great for festivals, large events, and other situations where a lot of people are crammed into small spaces.  Advertisements by bicycle really stick out and draw attention to the products being advertised, and if the products or services are also readily accessible within the area, the advertising is often pretty successful.

Image Credit: Pedicab.com

If you run a bike advertising business or use bicycles to advertise your business, we would love to hear from you in the comments section.  Does bike advertising work for you?

]]> http://www.utilitycycling.org/2010/03/bike-advertising/feed/ 5 http://www.utilitycycling.org/2010/03/retail-commercial-services-by-bike/ http://www.utilitycycling.org/2010/03/retail-commercial-services-by-bike/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:55:28 +0000 Melanie Meyers http://www.utilitycycling.org/?p=2193 Bicycles are an excellent way to do business.  Whether you are advertising your business by bike (aka bikevertising), transporting customers around town in a pedicab, moving your business or vending station around town by bike, picking up trash by bike, or any other range of services, bicycles provide a unique, cost-effective, and eye-catching way to do business.  Retail and commercial services by bike are only one subcategory of cycling services, which encompasses everything from land services to emergency and patrol services to bicycle mapping and more, but they are definitely one of biggest growing categories of cycling services today.

What Constitutes Retail & Commercial Services by Bike?

When we talk about retail and commercial services by bike, we are mainly referring of any kind of business or operation that uses the bicycle as a keystone element or piece of equipment for doing business.  This separates out bike shops, which are certainly focused on the bike, but they do not use the bicycle itself to do business.  There are definitely some cases where a stationary business with a storefront might use the bicycle to provide some service or do part of the business, so those are considered retail and commercial services by bike, according to our conceptualization of it.  But again, the main requirement is that the bicycle is actually used in the process of doing business.  Obviously, retail and commercial services by bike are also focused on selling a product or service, advertising, or the like, as well.

Image Credit: Tucson Velo

In many cases, it is somewhat difficult to distinguish between retail and commercial services by bicycle and bike delivery.  We aren’t too concerned about having a super-strict definition of either, and the overlap between the two is a good thing, but for the most part, delivery often refers to mail, packages, documents, and the like, while retail and commercial bike services might be focused around delivering food, flowers, plants, etc.

Types of Retail & Commercial Services by Bike

So far, we have identified four categories of retail and commercial services by bike, but I have a feeling we are probably missing a few.  If you operate a retail or commercial service by bike that we missed in our list, we would love to hear from you.

• Advertising: The bicycle is often used as a convenient source of advertising.  Banners flown from bike trailers, signs attached to racks, and flyer pockets in bike bags are just some of the ways the bicycle can be used to advertise.
• Pedicabs: What better way to see a city than in a carriage pulled by bicycle?  Bicycle taxis or pedicabs are not only popular for tourists in many places, there are also practical means of transportation in many crowded cities throughout the world.
• Vendors: The bicycle is also a popular mode of transportation for retail vendors, who might ride their merchandise to a certain location to set up shop for the day, and then ride home when the day is done.
• Recycling and Trash Service: Really, the extent of utility cycling is extremely vast.  You can even use your bicycle to help pick up trash and recycling, something that seems so entirely dependent on motorized travel, but which really doesn’t have to be.

Image Credit (and header): Bike Trailer Blog

Examples of Retail & Commercial Services by Bike

It doesn’t come as too much of surprise that the majority of great examples of retail and commercial bike services that I was able to find information about are from Portland, OR, as Portland is fortunate to have the great site Bike Portland, which has great articles about everything related to bikes in and around that city.  Nonetheless, cities around the United States and the rest of the world have plenty of great examples, as well.  Below, I have listed a number of links to stories and websites about retail and commercial services by bike that I was able to find.  But as always, let us know if you have heard of others!

• Mobile bike shop: The North Portland Mobile Bike shop will make house calls by bike to help you with repairs.
• SoupCycle: This mobile business is on the cusp of bike delivery and retail and commercial services by bike, but it deserves mention here because SoupCycle is focused around making delicious, organic soups, which are always delivered by bicycle.
• Bicycle hearse: Yes, you can even be taken to internment by bicycle!
• Trash hauling by bike: Pedal People, a company in Massachusetts, collects and delivers trash for their municipality.
• Tree planting by bike: This might be more of a land service by bike, but since I just discovered it, this tree planting by bicycle effort deserves mention.
• Bikevertising in Tucson: Businesses in Tucson, AZ, are embracing advertising by bike.
• Cargo bike businesses: Treehugger has a great, long list of tons of retail and commercial services by bike.  Check it out!

Cycling Service

I recently wrote a post about cycling as statement, where I explored the definition of utility, and hence, utility cycling.  Basically, what it boils down to is accomplishing a goal or service by bicycle that has some sort of meaningful impact or purpose (and is not sport or recreational in nature).  This definition provides for a lot of wiggle room and possibilities, so part of the challenge has been to list all of the different possible activities that could be considered utility cycling.  Providing services by bicycle are certainly one major category, but since the idea of service is so vast, the challenge was to figure out all of the different types.  When we refer to cycling services, we are thinking of activities that are done by bicycle, which provide people with some thing from food to policing to rescue to trash pick-up to mapping and much more.  The main types of service that we have identified thus far are:

• Retail and Commercial Service
• Emergency and Patrol Service
• Land Service

As always, if we have missed something, please do let us know!

Bicycle Land Service

As far as land service is concerned, it is a somewhat vague category, to be perfectly honest.  If you do a Google search for the term land service, you get everything from real estate agencies, to engineering firms, to development companies, to insurance agencies.  Ok, so what is land?  The good old Wikipedia tells us that land is the terrestrial part of the Earth that is not covered by water.  It also refers to property, countries, regions, places, landforms, etc.  Land service appears to be a catchall term for anything to do with land and a variety of services.    So if we take our idea of cycling service and tack it on to the big-bad word “land”, you get something that is a service accomplished by bicycle that has something to do – pretty directly – with land (and all its definitions).

Image Credit: Google

Types of Bicycle Land Service

Thus far, we have identified the following types of bicycle land services, which all have something to do with land in some capacity or another and are definitely accomplished via bicycle.

• Trailwork: Trail users such as mountain bikers are often proponents of trail work (which includes both building and maintenance), and the bicycle is often used to transport tools and equipment to different sections of trail where work is being done.
• Bike Patrol: Bike patrol groups assist in a variety of activities from emergency response to teaching trail users about etiquette to trail work.
• Mapping: There are numerous mapping opportunities that can be done via bicycle.  Perhaps the most notable is the current Google Maps effort to add a “Bike There” feature, and much of the mapping and route finding is being done via bicycle.
• Land Survey: The bicycle is a useful vehicle in urban environments for land survey in addition to the mapping mentioned above.  One major example as of late, which is tied pretty directly to bicycle mapping, is Google’s new Street View mapping trike.
• Research/ Testing Equipment: The bicycle can also be used to transport research equipment for various purposes (such as academic research being conducted by financially limited graduate students) to remote places, or it could be used in urban environments for other sorts of testing.  One example of this might be a bike count study in which the counter rides to his or her location by bicycle carrying his or her research equipment (in this case, a spreadsheet, perhaps).

Image Credit: IMBA

Some of the bicycle land services that we have identified are very closely related to recreational cycling.  Specifically, I am thinking of trailwork and bike patrol, which are activities done to improve or support the recreational riding experience, in many cases.  Nonetheless, someone who volunteers to do trailwork or bike patrol is indeed a sort of utility cyclist, as they are accomplishing specific goals while riding their bikes, even if it is in support of recreational riding.  And truth be told, many people may be hybrids – not just utility cyclists or sport or recreational cyclists, but a mixture of types.

As always, please let us know what we have missed in these categories.  We look forward to hearing from you.

The purpose of the series was to explore the ways in which bicycles can be utilized by emergency, fire, and police professionals in a wide range of settings.  One of the main conclusions drawn from the series was that bicycles can be more effective than walking or driving in certain types of emergency situations, as a bicycle can navigate spaces which a motorized vehicle cannot and often at greater speeds than a person on foot.  Oftentimes, officers or medical professionals on bikes are viewed as being more approachable than those in vehicles.  Additionally, another theme throughout the posts was the notion of the heightened awareness and sensory perception that a police officer, EMS professional, search and rescue professional, or firefighter is awarded when using a bicycle.  In short, the series highlighted both the importance and potential for using bicycles in this area of service.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find very much information about the use of bicycles for fire service.  But I was pretty excited to discover a link this morning a link on Copenhagenize to an article on the BBC Scotland’s new website titled Saddling up to promote fire safety.  It appears that the use of bicycles for fire service is growing and expanding!

Image Credit: BBC Scotland

According to the article, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, there is a new project being piloted in which firefighters use bicycles to connect and communicate with the local community about fire safety, as well as patrol for suspicious activity or fire hazards.  The project has thus far been heralded as a success, in part due to the fact that the firefighters on bicycle duty are “off-rota”, which means there is no possibility for them to have to respond to an emergency, so they can focus on the task at hand.

On-duty bicycle fire officers focus on spotting fire hazards, such as trash dumped in parking lots that might be set on fire by local kids, and anything else that might cause a fire or injury.  The officers also stop to chat with people at industrial complexes, on the streets, and around town, as many people are curious to find out what they are up to.  According to one of the officers, David Buich:

When they see us out on the bikes they are usually curious and come up to ask what we are doing. That gives us an opportunity to talk to them about fire safety. (from BBC article).

The officers have also started make specific visit with the local community to talk about fire hazards and generally to make the idea of “fire service more accessible.”  The bicycle officers speak at local community centers, as well as make specific home visits to help people clear up any fire hazards in their homes.  There is also an effort being made to work towards a more friendly relationship with local youth in order to prevent arson and attacks on fire crews.  And not surprisingly, as our series on the different kinds of patrol and emergency bike services demonstrated, the bicycle fire officers are much more accessible and approachable than they might be in a fire truck, which encourages people to view them in a more positive light, as well as connect with them on a more personal level.

Image Credit: BBC Scotland

Given the current success of this story, I am optimistic that using bicycles for fire service, as well as the other emergency and patrol service applications, could continue to expand.  Much like the idea of using a bicycle to deliver packages is cost efficient, environmentally friendly, and good for business, so too is the bicycle for many other kinds of cycling services.  I hope to see many more in the future!

Search and Rescue vs Emergency Medical Services

Before getting into a discussion of SAR service by bike, I’d like to briefly discuss the difference between search and rescue (SAR) and emergency medical service (EMS).  Like many concepts, both SAR and EMS vary to some degree or another depending on the context in which they are being implemented.  However, for the most part, SAR refers to “the humanitarian cause of saving lives.”  Generally speaking, many SAR operations occur in non-urban environments, while EMS activities – which are also dedicated to the cause of saving lives – typically occur in urban environments.  SAR and EMS professionals alike are typically trained in emergency medical service practices such as first aid, CPR, and the like.  SAR searchers are also typically trained to survive in harsh conditions due to the weather, terrain, hours, and more, while EMS professionals are trained to deal with the challenges presented in urban environments.  For the purposes of the SAR bike service discussion, I will be referring to SAR in non-urban environments, and naturally, by bike.

Search and Rescue Bike History

The use of bicycles for search and rescue (SAR) is relatively new.  In the Mountain Bike Search and Rescue Training Manual available from the Backcountry Trail Patrol Association, Hans Erdman describes one of the first incidents of mountain bikes being used for search and rescue:

The headlights split the darkness ahead; the only sound, the heavy breathing of the cyclists as they made their way down the mountain trail.  The terrain was rough, the sky as dark as 3 AM on an overcast night could be, but the four mountain bikers stuck to the task they had been given.  By the light of their bike’s dual headlights, helmet headlamps, and occasional pocket flashlights, they picked up the occasional footprint.  However, the boy they were seeking was not sticking strictly to the trail, which made the difficult night tracking even more arduous.  They continued on, dropping gears to go up steep hills, hoisting the bikes onto their shoulders when there was a stream to be crossed.  Gradually, the sky started to lighten, and the sun slowly rose over the mountains.  Now any observer could see the orange shirts and white helmets of the sheriff’s mountain bike search and rescue (SAR) unit, as they pushed on through the gathering daylight.

Erdman goes on to describing this particular SAR unit finding the boy they were seeking.  The particular incident he describes took place in southern California in 1995, and since that time, more and more SAR units have started to use bicycles – typically of the mountain bike variety – as additional tools for SAR operations.

Image Source: Back Country Trail Patrol Association

It is important to note that SAR cycling is not the same as bike patrol.  Bike patrols are typically groups or individuals who volunteer to patrol trail areas by bicycle in order to assist trail users, inform trailer users of land use laws, and educate trail users about proper etiquette and more.  The International Mountain Bike Association (IMPA) runs the National Mountain Bike Patrol (NMBP), which is a nationwide group of bike patrol organizations.  Bike patrols generally operate on a volunteer basis, as do some SAR cyclists, but SAR cycling focuses primarily on search and rescue.

Search and Rescue Procedures by Bike

It goes without saying that SAR operations by bike are not typically “a ride in the park,” as Erdman puts it.  He emphasizes that SAR cyclists are riding for a different purpose than law enforcement, EMS, or trail patrol.  SAR cyclists are not riding for recreation either.  Unlike EMS cyclists, SAR cyclists may be asked to navigate very rough terrain, in nasty weather conditions, across long distances, and for long hours, not to mention they often have to carry between 30-50 pounds of equipment.  So it comes as no surprise that good SAR cyclists have to train – mentally and physically – in order to successfully fulfill their duties and to not become a rescuee instead of a rescuer.

SAR cyclists also need the appropriate training for their job, in addition to the mental and physical training on the bike, in areas such as wilderness first aid, CPR, map and compass use, communications, backcountry survival and search procedures (including general and bike specific), according to Erdman.  Knowledge of bike repair and tracking may also be necessary.  Last, but certainly not least, SAR cyclists need to be competent mountain bike handlers, as well.

Image Source: South Australian Bike Search and Rescue

Why Search and Rescue Bikes?

The reason for using bicycles for search and rescue operations is generally the same as it is for using a bicycle for law enforcement, EMS, and fire: a bicycle allows an individual to cover ground faster and more efficiently than on foot and to navigate areas that are not accessible by car.  There is a great deal of utility in using a bicycle for emergency and patrol services, because the bicycle is extremely efficient and versatile.  But you already knew that, didn’t you? 

Emergency and Patrol Bike Service Series

• Police Bikes
• Ambulance/ EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Bikes
• Fire Service Bikes
• Search and Rescue Bikes

History of Fire Service Bicycles

The history of fire service bicycles is relatively hazy.  I did however, find a handful of useful resources about early fire service vehicles, which appear to have been primarily used prior to the development of motorized transportation.  Although I was haven’t yet be able to get my hands on what appears to be a very useful article by Steven Carter (1999) titled Fire Service Bicycles: Did They Ever Exist?, which was published in The Wheelman magazines, I did read through a journal article that cited Carter’s piece.  The citing article – The Product Life Cycle and the Use of Bicycles to Deliver Goods and Services by Ross D. Petty – is a definitely worth the read in general.  As for its reference to fire service bicycles, Petty indicates that fire service bicycles of some variety were definitely used in Australia, Great Britain, and France, and for the most part, it would appear that the use was limited to the late 1800’s and very early 1900’s.

In 1905, the Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) Company – who are actually well-known for their motorcycles – commissioned a fire service bicycle.  It is probably that the use of those fire service bicycles was limited to Great Britain, and I do not know how many were produced.  Nonetheless, the frames were designed to accommodate a fire hose, a siren, and an axe.

Photo credit: Bicycle Evolution

BSA was actually quite involved in the early development of bicycles, and they are well-known for a variety of three-wheeled bicycles, including the “Otto” safety bike, which had wheels on each side, the “Alpha” ordinary bicycle, and many other safety bicycles and tricycles.  BSA was also involved in the R&D of many important bicycle parts, which are now standard on most bicycles.  But beyond the early 1900’s, BSA devoted a great deal of their attention to the development of motorcycles.

Fire service bicycles also appeared to be in use in the mid 1900’s.  The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) in Great Britain used fire brigade bicycles, some of which are still around today.  Old Bike has a good selection of photos of two old fire brigade bicycles, which are being restored, but it is unclear what the AFS used the bicycles for.  Perhaps getting to the fire to assist with suppression and extinction of the fire?  However, after the 1940’s it seems that fire service bicycle use basically disappeared.

Photo Credit: Old Bike

Modern Fire Service Bicycles

Modern firefighting generally requires a great deal of equipment, so it comes as no surprise that the modern use of bicycles for fire service is basically nonexistent.  I did however, find one case of fire service bicycle use.  Specifically, in the U.K., fire fighters are being deployed by bike to patrol neighborhoods and areas in which the crime of arson is a major problem.  This helps to emphasize the point made in the police bike and EMS bike posts that using the bicycle as a vehicle for patrolling areas can be much more effective that using a motor vehicle.

However, this is the only information I could find about the use of modern fire service bikes.  There are bike history enthusiasts that have restored and re-built old fire service bicycles, but for the most part, fire service by bicycle is basically non-existent.

Photo Credit: The Heathcote Valley Online

But if you have any information about fire service bicycles that I have missed, I would love to hear from you!

Emergency and Patrol Bike Service Series

• Police Bikes
• Ambulance/ EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Bikes
• Fire Service Bikes
• Search and Rescue Bikes

History of EMS Bikes

The history of EMS bikes is a bit more hazy than the history of police bikes.  According to A Brief History of EMS Cycling by Maureen Becker, which is available at the IPMBA website, medics who used bicycles may have done so initially as an alternative to walking when they were working at large special events.  Nonetheless, much like police bicycle use, medic bicycle use was intermittent throughout the United States for many years.  One of the earliest units to purchase bicycles for department use was the Indianapolis Fire Department in approximately 1984, and they had established an official bike team by 1989.  However, in the 1990’s, more and more official EMS cycling units began to appear around the United States and in Canada.

For the most part, EMS and medic bike units are used for special events.  Bicycles can be more effective in large, crowded spaces, as they are naturally much faster than walking and can also haul a lot of special gear and equipment.  Nonetheless, there are a number of more permanent medical bike units around the U.S., most notably a EMS bike team founded in 1995 in Florida to patrol bike trails and the International Drive corridor, and a weekend EMS bike team in Nashville, TN, founded in 1997 in response to a 25 minute ambulance delay to reach a heart attack victim due to large crowds.  EMS bike units were also formed to patrol airports, again due to long distances and large crowds.  The first airport EMS bike units were founded in 1998 in Eau Claire Airport, Wisconsin, and Vancouver International Airport (British Columbia).  The IPMBA (International Police Mountain Bike Association) founded the IPMBA EMS Cyclist Program in 1997 and helps to train EMS cyclists to ride with heavy loads in large crowds, among other things.

EMS Cycling Procedures

Today, EMS Cycling is relatively common, especially for special events, in tourist areas, college campuses, airports, train stations, amusement parks, and other crowded areas that take up a significant geographical area, but which may not be accessible by motorized vehicle in many circumstances.  In many cases, when an ambulance cannot reach a patient due to access through crowds or barriers and a person on foot might be too slow, a bicycle medic is the best solution, as the bicycle can haul a significant amount of weight.  Additionally, people are more likely to move out of the way of a bicycle, rather than a person, but it is sometimes difficult to get large crowds to make way for a large vehicle like an ambulance.

Photo credit – IMPBA

EMS bikes are usually deployed to an event or location in addition to an ambulance.  For example, at a large event, an ambulance will be located somewhere on the premises, in order to transport a victim to a hospital, if necessary.  The main purpose of the bicycle unit is to get to a patient as quickly as possible and provide care until the patient can be taken to the ambulance or the ambulance is able to reach the patient.

EMS/ Medic Bicycles

EMS bikes, much like police bikes, are often of the mountain bike variety.  EMS bikes are usually equipped with bike racks and bike bags to carry the necessary gear such as ALS (advanced life support), BLS (basic life support), oxygen, communication equipment, warning devices, and more.  Some EMS bikes are of the electric bicycle variety, which makes a great deal of sense, as time is usually of the essence in the EMS world, and electric bicycles provide a little bit of assist for medics carrying a lot of gear and covering long distances.

Photo credit – City of New Orleans

Ambulance Bicycles

In many developing countries, there are not many ambulances or EMS units to start with.  In many cases, emergency medical care and transportation is provided by the local community.  Much like in the U.S., however, the bicycle can often mean the difference between life and death, and in many places, ambulances bicycles that actually transport patients are becoming more and more common.

One of the most famous bicycle ambulance projects is the Bambulance, which was created by the charity Design for Development Society.  The Bambulance is a sustainable vehicle made from locally grown bamboo in Kenya and other African countries.  This video shows the process involved in creating the Bambulance.

I will dedicate a full post to the Bambulance and other bicycle ambulances sometime in the future.  Next up in our series, fire fighting bikes!

Emergency and Patrol Bike Service Series

• Police Bikes
• Ambulance/ EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Bikes
• Fire Service Bikes
• Search and Rescue Bikes

History of Police Bicycle Officers

The notion of law enforcement has been around for thousands of years, and the role and duties of police officers vary through time and by country.  Modern police officers are generally employed by the state to enforce laws and provide civil protection, and they are permitted to exercise the use of force in pursuit of law enforcement, protection, and security.  Bicycle police officers are simply police officers who patrol by bicycle.

Photo from IPMBA

Police bicycle use has risen and fallen – to a large degree – in tandem with overall bicycle use in many Western nations.  For the most part, bike patrols were intermittent throughout cities in the United States until only recently.  Some places had more active bike patrols, while others had none at all.  However, in 1991, the first Police on Bikes Conference was held, and the idea started to take hold in more and more cities throughout the country.  The conference, which was mainly the brainchild of the League of American Bicyclists, provided a forum and common ground on which different agencies could establish standards, discuss training and equipment, and more.  Today, police bicycle officers are a relatively common part of an urban environment.

To learn more, you can visit IPMBA’s history page or download The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Bicycle Police by Ross D. Petty, which I found on the IPMBA history page.

Modern Police Bicycle Officers

Many of us – especially those of us who cycle often – are familiar with the BOP’s (aka bicycle cops or police officers on bike).  The main concept behind police bicycles is to give police officers greater mobility and maneuverability in urban environments than they would otherwise have in a car or on foot.  Most police bicycles are of the mountain bike variety, as this allows for off-road use or rallying down stairs or off curbs when necessary.

Bicycle officers are allowed to navigate all kinds of places from shopping malls to athletic arenas and many other places that the rest of us citizens are not permitting to ride in…and I have occasionally noted that they seem to be “permitted” to ride the wrong way down the road, on the sidewalk, etc., which infuriates me as it could give the incorrect impression of what one is legally able to do on a bicycle.  Anyhow, enough ranting from me…the point is that bicycle officers are permitted more access to certain places on bicycles than the rest of us are, as they well should be.  Erhm, but they should obey the law when not in pursuit of a criminal or something of that nature, in my opinion, so as not to give the incorrect impression of the laws to  everyone else.

According to the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IMPBA), bicycles are the new wave in patrol and EMS services, because bikes “bridge the gap” between foot and car traffic.  And I find it extremely fascinating that IPMBA also claims that bicycle officers are often cited by citizens as being more approachable than foot or car officers.  Anyone have any thoughts as to why that might be when people on bicycle are, more often than not, viewed as being “the other”?  Additionally, IPMBA also notes that bicycle officers are better able to utilize all of their senses and approach suspicious activities quietly and unnoticed in many cases.  I would definitely agree that riding (and walking) give you a much greater sense of your surroundings than being in a car does, so naturally such activities are good for sniffing out bad guys.

In light of the recent debacle about the 93-page bicycle training manual produced by well-meaning, safety-conscious officers in the UK that received a great deal of criticism and mockery from the British press and on the Interwebs, I was curious to see what IPMBA had to say about training requirements for bicycle officers.  IPMBA notes that:

While many officers and EMS providers know how to ride bikes, far fewer know how to cycle and survive in complex traffic. Unlike recreational cyclists who can choose routes that are convenient and safe, public safety cyclists have to ride where they are needed. That may mean they have to ride in extremely heavy traffic. Are the members of your bike unit skilled enough to do that now? Do they know where to ride on multi-lane or channelized roadways? Can they brake safely with maximum effectiveness and control? Can they perform emergency maneuvers if a car or object suddenly appears in their path? Police, EMS, and security cyclists need the skills to ascend and descend curbs, stairs, and other environmental obstacles. Police and security cyclists must know what tactics to use in a pursuit and how to dismount quickly but safely and perform an arrest or fire their sidearm. EMS cyclists must know how to cycle with a heavy load, select and pack medical equipment, and position a bike at a scene in such a way that it blocks curious onlookers yet does not hamper access to the medical equipment.

Indeed, I quite agree.  Riding a bicycle in challenging circumstances and terrain is not necessarily something that comes “naturally” to everyone, though I certainly envy those for whom it does.  I have spent many hours doing drills and training to improve my mountain bike skills, cornering skills for criteriums, and more, and I would argue that my time has been well-spent to prepare me for riding that is out-of-the-ordinary; in my case, a bike race.  Police officers in general have special skills, so why shouldn’t bicycle officers have even more special skills and be prepared for riding in out-of-the-ordinary circumstances?  On the other hand, a manual teaching them how to turn (aka deploy into a junction) is a bit much and definitely funny.  At the same time, not everyone can “deploy into a junction” going 30 miles per hour, but I would hope that a bicycle officer would be able to.  Perhaps they should take a course from this fellow.  Nonetheless, as this article from Bike Radar mentions, cycle training for all people who ride, not just bicycle officers, could definitely be beneficial, despite the fact that the basics are not so hard to learn.

Photo from IPMBA

What are your experiences with bicycle police officers or as a bicycle police officer?  Do you think bicycle officer training is necessary?

Next up…

• Ambulance/ EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Bikes
• Fire Service Bikes
• Search and Rescue Bikes

So what exactly is a mobile bike business?  It seems to me that a mobile bike business has a different kind of flair and purpose than say a bike delivery service.  Though the two are very closely related, a mobile bike business is a store, a restaurant, a cafe, what-have-you on wheels.  Whereas a bike delivery service typically focuses on bringing goods to a customer, a mobile bike business would more likely arrive a designated location and then wait for the customer to come to it.  The differences are not really terribly important, the important fact is that both types of cycling service are replacing services that are typically accomplished with a motor vehicle.

I decided to do a little searching on the Interwebs to see what I could find in the way of mobile bike businesses.  Not surprisingly, most of the mobile bike-based businesses that I found are based in none other than Portland, Oregon.  Here is a short rundown of some of the mobile bike businesses I found.

Mobile Coffee Shops

Cafe Velo was the subject of one of the articles that inspired me to write this post.  Cafe Velo is Portland’s first bakfiets-based business.  A bakfiets is a cargo bike with a large box in front for carrying goods.  Cafe Velo’s creator – Rick Wilson – in his article on BikePortland.org, emphasizes the necessity of keeping things simple when establishing a mobile bike business.  He recommends sticking to one service – in his case serving coffee – in order to maintain high quality.  See photos of the bike and the business on Flickr.

In the Winston-Salem area, a few entrepreneurs decided to make use of the cultural connections between cycling and coffee drinking by adding a coffee shop on wheels to an already existing group of business.

And perhaps my favorite thus far is the BikeCaffe, which was originally founded in the U.K.  The BikeCaffe is a mobile coffee shop much like the ones mentioned above, but if you are curious about the experience of running one yourself, the BikeCaffe has franchise opportunities available for the ambitious, bike-riding, coffee-drinkers out there!

Mobile Pubs

Just as coffee and bikes go nicely together, so do beer and bikes!

Once again, those Oregonians are leading the charge in mobile bike businesses.  In the morning you can have your coffee from a mobile cafe, and in the afternoon/ evening, you can have some brew – and a slice of pizza – from a Hopworkfiets.  Metrofiets, a box bike builder in the Portland area, built the bike for the Hopworks Urban Brewery.  The bike has everything from a stereo to space for two kegs to an ice-chest to a pizza rack!  Check out photos of the amazing Hopworkfiets on Flickr.

Of course, most people have seen or heard of  the famous and fantastic Bierfiets or bike bar.  Though slightly different from a mobile bike business, as it is usually rented out by a group of people, it has the same effect of creating a similar atmosphere to a mobile bike pub (ie. getting some sort of service by bicycle).

Bike Vending Carts

Moving on from beverages, it is also quite common to find mobile bike businesses that cater to your hungry belly.  Bike vending carts are quite common in the downtown areas of large cities, where the vendor can set up a location for the day.  Bike vending carts can be found as trailers that attach to the back of your bicycle, or they might be three-wheeled cargo trikes, or even two-wheeled long-john style bikes with a box attached to the front (much like a bakfiets).

Portlanders aren’t the only ones running mobile bike businesses, and in fact, such businesses are much more common in Europe, especially bike friendly cities like Copenhagen or Amsterdam.  This post on Copenhagenize.com has photos of an assortment of three-wheeled bike vendors who sell sushi, ice cream, vegetarian food, and other food items.

An ice cream vendor bike from WorkManCycle.

Mobile Bike Shop

And what about your bike repair service needs?  Well those are covered by mobile bike businesses as well.

In Portland, the North Portland Mobile Bike Shop can make house calls to help you repair your broken bike.  The shop’s owner – Dennis Kelly – makes house calls to people who are too busy or too intimidated to go into a regular bike shop.  He pulls as many tools as possible with his cargo bike and though he focuses on just one region in Portland, he will ride to most any place in the city.

But wait, it gets better, well sort of.  AAA will now make roadside assistance calls to cyclists who have membership in some states.  Now this is pretty cool, and it’s a bit like a mobile bike business, but unfortunately I don’t see anything about AAA employees riding out to members who call for assistance.  Anyways, it deserves some mention for being a mobile bike business (though not a human-powered one).

Other Mobile Shops

Mobile bike businesses don’t stop at food, beverages, or bike repair, anything can be sold by bike as the photo below demonstrates.  The possibilities are endless!

Photo from LetItBeChina

Lastly, in Nicaragua, where many people use mobile call shops to make national and international calls, some entreprenuers have created a mobile call shop called Pedaled Phone Calls (Llamadas Pedaleadas), which also generates energy from riding and can be used to charge cell-phones.  More info at BikeHacks.com.

What have I missed? Do you own a mobile bike business or do you frequent one? Let us know and send us some photos!