Mississippi city to ponder pedicabs

JACKSON, Miss. -- Pedicabs could soon be moving people around downtown Jackson.

Capitol City Connections, a new company, plans to start a pedicabs business by Sept. 1.

“Half of our fleet will be pedal, eco-friendly, and the other half will be electrical-powered,” said Laura Manning, who with partner Abraham Santa Cruz made a presentation to the Jackson City Council on Wednesday.

Manning said their company would begin soon ordering the pedicabs. The goal will be to shuffle people from location to location in a 13-block area of downtown that's too short a distance for a taxi.

The local business would be modeled after pedicab businesses that operate in New Orleans and in Bay St. Louis and Oxford in Mississippi.

In New Orleans, where the pedicabs have been operating since 2011, the pedicabs primarily operate in the downtown area and the French Quarter. Manning said their company would probably charge rates similar to pedicabs there, which charges $5 for the first six blocks and $1 per block per person after that.

Manning said the operators of the pedicabs will be well dressed and knowledgeable about city attractions. And the goal is to have at least one pedicab that will be accessible to people with a disability.

“If we are successful in downtown Jackson, we will expand to other areas,” Manning said.

Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon said she is excited by the plan for pedicabs in Jackson. “It’s just fun to ride one,” she said.

New City Council President Melvin Priester Jr. suggested company officials meet with the directors of the Jackson Convention Center and the Mississippi Museum of Art about events there where the pedicab service may be ideal for people to use.