Misplaced Guilt

"Oh, I could never ride in a pedicab, because I would feel so guilty to have a poor cyclist pulling me around!"

I don't know how many times I have heard this, and it made no more sense the 50th time than the first time I heard it.

Let me get this straight... a member of Joe Public feels guilty to ride in a vehicle that uses NO gas, and that emits no carbon dioxide. They feel guilty because I am enjoying the fresh air, nature, historic sights all around me, the pleasure of their company while they explore their natural and historic surroundings with me. They feel guilty because I am getting exercise, and enjoying the fresh air on interesting 10 minutes trips, in a city full of nature and historic sights and entertainment venues and fascinating shopping, and they will probably get to enjoy the exercise themselves taking a 20 minute walk back to public transportation or their parked vehicle. ( I lost 13 pounds in 2 months driving a bicycle rickshaw last year, and was in the best shape I have been in for years... while making money and new friends)

They would feel guilty getting around our Downtown being transported by a human powered pedicab, but they don't feel guilty riding downtown in their cars alone, or navigating a congested downtown in their heavy gas guzzling vehicles, and then spending more time and money than a whole pedicab trip would take looking for a rare parking spot? They don't feel guilty burning fossil fuels in a multi-ton vehicle when they are the only occupant, but they feel badly when 2 or three of us are being moved by muscle power?

You know, muscles get stronger when we use them, and most of us could use a lot more walking and cycling, and would live longer healthier lives as a result!

PLEASE... don't feel sorry for me while I am having the healthy time of my life transporting tourists and Winnipegers alike around our central downtown area. Feel sorry for what the city will look like a century from now if we keep congesting it with more and more cars, and if we design our downtown area to cope with the cars, rather than to service the population.

No matter what city you live in, join the active transportation movement and improve the look and feel of your city, and yourself!

Next time you are driving around in your heavy and expensive automobile, look out the window and you might try feeling sorry for the City and for all those blokes around you, with their windows rolled up, driving just THEMSELVES around. Feel bad for THEM and feel badly for the environment.

And for those of you that are using public transit, or your own bicycles, or your own feet... good for you. Take a break and go for a ride in a pedicab. It won't hurt the environment whether you are using your own power or my power! And it is amazing how beautiful the urban environment is when you don't have the air conditioning on and windows tightly sealed shut, shutting out the fresh air and the sounds of nature and the human side of the city.

Misplaced guilt? If I am fortunate enough to have 4 or 10 or 20 pedicabs operating in the city over the next few years, don't feel sorry for our student drivers who are helping pay for their university and community college educations. Don't feel sorry for the aboriginal and Metis youth who will be driving pedicabs and helping you explore a city that is so rich in Metis and First Nations' heritage. Don't feel sorry for the fit over-40's who might drive you around and share their wealth of accumulated knowledge of the sights and sounds of the city. Don't feel sorry for yourself if you take a pedicab to a museum or restaurant or entertainment event downtown, and if you need to get 15 minutes exercise walking back!

Our pedicab drivers will be well treated and well trained. They will only work in 4 hour shifts at a time, and they will be well dressed for the elements. They will be independent operators with high standards of safety and training, and they will have control over their own hours and working conditions. They will NOT be adding to the planet or the city's pollution. They will be friendly and they will be having fun. The city will be a quieter and more humane and more vibrant place because you are riding with them.

Let's rethink the way we look at the world, and examine why we would feel guilty at utilizing human powered transportation, but on a daily basis many of us never question the impacts of non-human powered transportation behemoths!

Hmmm.... A paradigm shift might be in order, instead of the incessant shifting of automobile transmissions. I challenge you all to think about the world and how we USE it and MOVE in it, in a different way. Take the Active Transportation challenge, no matter where you are in the world!

Len (Ecorider)