Mayor Domenic Sarno welcomed a new business to downtown and took an inaugural ride in a pedicab. City Councilor Kateri Walsh joined Sarno for a ride that went from City Hall to Union Station and back. Sarno, whose birthday was the day of the ride – May 4 – clearly enjoyed himself. A pedicab is small three-wheeled vehicle operated by a pedaling driver. Springfield Pedicab is the only licensed and insured pedicab business operating in the city. Each pedicab comfortably seats two people.

Alex Cruz explained to Reminder Publications that he and his business partner Frank Mozell are offering the human-powered cab service in downtown and said the best way to arrange for a ride is to go through its website at www.springfieldpedicab.com. The fee is $25 an hour, but if a customer spots one of the two pedicabs in the fleet at liberty, the fee can be negotiated for a short trip. Cruz said it is essentially a tip for the driver.

Cruz expects to add another pedicab soon and his plan is to have a group of 15 cabs in time for the MGM Springfield casino’s opening in the fall of 2018. He said so far people have expected the service would be expensive, but Cruz noted it’s not. He added the drivers obey the rules of the road and are careful not to complicate the downtown traffic already affected by both MGM construction and the I-91 viaduct project.

Seen here are Mozell and Cruz with Walsh and Sarno ready for their ride.