Mellowcabs jolts rickshaws into the 21st Century (BBC)

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Ken Wysocky

In mass transit, the so-called “last mile” – the short distance commuters must navigate from a rail station or bus depot to reach their final destination – is more vexing than a London or New York traffic jam. But micro-transport entrepreneur Neil du Preez has a potential solution.

Despite being plagued by inefficiencies as measured by greenhouse-gas emissions, gridlock, wasted productivity and poor fuel economy, taxis are, for most urban centres, the most common remedy for that problematic last mile. That is where du Preez’s eco-friendly, rickshaw-like Mellowcab steps in with a re-imagined taxi of the future: a lightweight (230kg/507lbs) three-wheeler powered by pedals and an electric-assist motor – with plenty of visible exterior surface to serve as a rolling billboard, too.

“More than 80% of all urban trips across the globe are shorter than three miles, which is an extremely inefficient use of internal-combustion engines,” says du Preez, a former agricultural-fertiliser chemist who founded Mellowcabs with colleague Kobus Breytenbach in Franschhoek, South Africa. “But short distances are ideal for electric micro-vehicles such as Mellowcabs. Our cab's performance is on par with normal taxis, and it complies with international roadworthy standards, meaning we can operate legally and safely on just about any road.”

Some inroads are being made in last-mile solutions (and yes, there is a first mile to solve, too, at the front end of mass-transit systems). Options range from public bike-sharing programmes to so-called personal rapid transit systems, such as the one in Masdar City, a “clean-tech cluster” within Adu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. But Mellowcab wants a seat at the table, too.

The sunny name and friendly, smiley face-yellow colour belie the vehicle’s evolved components. Its protective shell is made from recycled-plastic compound. Brushless, internally geared (12:1 step-down gear ratio) electric wheel-hub motors (5kw of power each) provide propulsion; just start pedaling, and the motors engage, not unlike some electric-assisted cargo bikes. Rechargeable lead-crystal batteries, with a maximum range of 110km (roughly 68 miles), provide the power.



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more: http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20141020-your-e-rickshaw-has-arrived