City OKs rules for downtown pedicabs, pedal buses

The options for getting around Las Vegas continue to expand, with the City Council’s approval Wednesday of a package of rules for pedicabs and pedal buses to operate downtown.

Pedicabs, wheeled, human pedal-powered vehicles that transport passengers in carriages, and pedal buses, which allow groups of people to pedal themselves, often between watering holes, can now operate in much of downtown, with some exceptions.

The regulations had been delayed by a council committee more than once over the past couple of months as city staff tried to reach an agreement with downtown business owners about where the human-powered vehicles should be allowed downtown.

David Bowers, city public works director, said pedicabs and pedal buses have become “part of the culture” in some cities. Bowers gave an update about mobility downtown at the City Council meeting Wednesday and said the goal is to make the area a better place to walk, bike and otherwise get around.

Multiple pedicab operators have expressed interest in operating in downtown Las Vegas.

Pedal buses already operate downtown: The Vegas Pub Crawler allows groups of people to pedal themselves from pub to pub with a guide. Until the council’s action Wednesday though, that was considered a special event under city code, but not a regular business

Pedicabs and pedal buses will be allowed in most of the core downtown area, with the exception of Main and Fourth streets, and Stewart Avenue between Fourth and Sixth streets between 3 and 6 p.m. weekdays. The vehicles are prohibited on Las Vegas Boulevard, Maryland Parkway, Charleston Boulevard and Casino Center Boulevard south of Carson Avenue.

Operators will need business licenses to operate in the city, and if they’re using space on a public street for parking, a rental agreement with the city’s parking services division.

The city is expanding its network of bike lanes, a bike-share program just began downtown, and city officials are mulling a contract for free downtown “circulator” shuttles, electric vehicles that could be available on a fixed-route and on-demand basis in 2017.

The council delayed taking action on the proposed shuttles contract with the company The Free Ride until its Nov. 16 meeting.

The downtown circulator shuttles have been in the works for about two years, and Mayor Carolyn Goodman said she first saw them in Coronado, California, to move people “easily and comfortably” for free and on a regular schedule.

The proposed two-year contract between the city and the company would see the city pay up to $490,000 per year for the duration of the contract for the company to provide the free shuttle service in a roughly 4-mile segment of downtown.

A circulator shuttle could provide “the type of connectivity we don’t currently have downtown,” Bowers said.

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Find @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.