A hybrid rickshaw, just for those steep grades
Barcelona and Brussels already has have human-powered rickshaws as part of their tourist attractions. They offer an comfortable yet ecological way of touring around the car-free old city centres. However, and despite of the multiplication of gears available, climbing some steep grades can be hard for the driver.
On the other hand, there are lots of electric bikes scooting around with some good available technology, a few ones using light lithium batteries that the biker can take away and recharge at home. The Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), in a project codeveloped with Cyclotourbike has unveiled a new rickshaw that includes an electric motor that assists the driver. The name: Intrèpid, the hybrid human-electric vehicle which will be available this summer for tourist trips around València's beautiful city center.
UPV plans adding a solar panel on top to recharge the batteries for next year.
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[Source: UPV via 20minutos.es]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
George Krpan 4:14PM (5/31/2007)
What a good idea. I can imagine a very capable vehicle of this sort could be made using modern mountain bike suspension, brake, and frame technology. It could ride and handle beautifully and it would be light
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wouter 4:42AM (6/01/2007)
Brussels has no such thing as a rickshaw. It doesn't have a car-free center, in fact it is the only city in Flanders/Belgium without a car-free center. You can even drive straight in to the 600 year old city hall
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philippe 7:52AM (6/01/2007)
Amsterdam has them too! There's a company here that uses the same rickshaws as the one in Barcelona, check http://www.wielertaxi.nl/. They're quite popular with the tourists!
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DriverG 9:44AM (6/01/2007)
This technology doesn't sound very new. Many of the pedicabs that clog the streets of New York City have been using electric assist for years.
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