Pedicabs in Bike Lanes

[carey...@comcast.net]

I’m a member of the Transportation Licensing Commission which regulates, among other things, scooter/bike share and pedicabs. TLC has a rule that pedicabs are not to use bike lanes.  AFAIK there is no other legal prescription against them  using a bike lane. They are electric and I think meet the definition of an e-bike in the state law (TCA 55-8-301).  Some in the industry want the TLC to change it’s rule.  

 

Any thoughts on this issue?

 

It’s being discussed on the Nashville Cyclist reddit group. The pro and cons are listed below as presented on Reddit.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/nashvillecyclists/comments/1srb3ex/pedicabs/

 

 

Carey Rogers

 

 

 

 

Should pedicabs be allowed in Nashville's bike lanes? Looking for honest community feedback

Not gonna lie, I feel a little exposed posting this, Reddit can go sideways fast, but I was encouraged to come here for real community input, so here we go.

The case for it:

Pedicab drivers and passengers are genuinely safer out of traffic. Fighting for lane space in a me and my truck owns this road state is dangerous.

Pedicabs are 48" wide and fit within standard bike lanes (most are 4ft+).

Nashville's bike community is small, more consistent bike lane activity actually helps drivers notice and respect the lanes.

Pedicabs are built from ~90% bicycle components and travel at bike speeds.

Delivery robots are already permitted in bike lanes. Shouldn't we extend the same access to human-powered vehicles carrying real people?

Pedicab operators are sober, licensed, and trained. That's more than you can say for most scooter riders at midnight on Broadway.

The case against:

Some cyclists feel bike lanes should be bikes only, full stop.

Pedicabs are wider than a standard bicycle and could create bottlenecks, especially in high-traffic areas.

A loaded pedicab carrying passengers may move slower than cyclists, causing frustration and unsafe passing situations.

Unlike solo cyclists, pedicabs are commercial vehicles, mixing commerce and commuting infrastructure raises legitimate questions about who the lane is really for.

One data point worth considering:

In a study of 27 cities, only ONE , NYC, bans pedicabs from the bike lane. And NYC has 620,000 daily bike trips, 840 pedicabs, 1,571 miles of bike lanes, and a world-class cycling culture. Nashville has a bikeability score of 30/100, no published bike trip data, and is still building its infrastructure. There are only 42 permitted pedicabs in all of Nashville, the idea that they would meaningfully compete with cyclists for lane space doesn't really hold up. What works as a restriction in the most bike-saturated city in America probably shouldn't be the default for a city still finding its footing.

Genuinely curious what people think. Be cool.

 

 

 

[Matthew Hertz]

Hi Carey - Good seeing you at last night's BPAC meeting. Thanks for bringing this to the group, and for the thoughtful framing.

I've thought about this a fair bit. In fact last week I invited Grace Lewis who operates Local Bike Taxi to attend our East End Neighborhood Association meeting as she is seeking to expand into East Nashville. 

My take: Nashville should allow pedicabs in bike lanes, with some common-sense guardrails.

The data point about NYC being the only city out of 27 that bans them is hard to ignore. And the comparison cuts the other way from what you might expect. If the world's most bike-saturated city is the outlier in restricting them, that's not a model Nashville should rush to emulate. We're a city still building cycling culture - as you point out, and we all know - and 42 permitted pedicabs won't meaningfully compete with cyclists for lane space.

The safety argument also resonates with me. Downtown and Midtown (and most of the county) are genuinely hostile environments for anything smaller than a pickup truck. Pedicab drivers navigating that in mixed traffic poses a real hazard not just for them, but for their passengers.

That said, I think there's room for the TLC to update its rule in a way that addresses the legitimate concerns: speed differentials, bottlenecks in high-use corridors, and the commercial-vs-commuter tension. 

A few ideas worth discussing:

• Allow pedicabs in bike lanes with a posted or practical speed minimum, or require them to yield to overtaking cyclists.
• Geographic carve-outs for the highest-traffic stretches where conflicts are most likely
• Regular review is tied to infrastructure buildout as Nashville's lane network "matures."

I'd lean toward supporting a rule change, but one designed to grow with the city rather than simply lifting the restriction wholesale. Happy to engage further with the TLC on this if it's helpful.

Matt

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[James Guthrie]

"Other people's safety is more important than my speed and convenience."

If we can't live by that, how can we ask motorists to?

On Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:49 AM William Hubbard <whub...@hubbardsmith.com> wrote:

I think pedicabs should be allowed to use the bike lanes, I don’t think they would cause a substantial impediment to downtown bikers like me.

 

Bill

 

William Hubbard

Hubbard & Smith

40 Rutledge Street

Nashville, TN 37210

 

615.251.5446(cell)

Fax 615.736.6095

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[Bruce Barry]

Thanks for compiling the arguments for and against. The arguments against are unpersuasive:

Some cyclists feel bike lanes should be bikes only, full stop.

That's just silly in an era of multiple forms of micromobility. I am fine for instance with scooters in bike lanes.

Pedicabs are wider than a standard bicycle and could create bottlenecks, especially in high-traffic areas.

Some ebikes like these cargo monstrosities are wider than standard bicycle and we would and shouldn't ban them. As long as pedicabs know they cannot stop and block traffic in a bike lane to load or discharge passengers or carry out a transaction, I don't see the problem. 

A loaded pedicab carrying passengers may move slower than cyclists, causing frustration and unsafe passing situations.

A bike going slowly may move slower than other cyclists. Do we also ban pokey leisure bikers? Those of us who use bike lanes civilly know we will at times have to exit the bike lane if we wish to pass a slow rider.

Unlike solo cyclists, pedicabs are commercial vehicles, mixing commerce and commuting infrastructure 

A bike might be delivering for Doordash - ok not common here but there are only maybe a few thousand of them in NYC and elsewhere. Are we going to ban bike delivery riders from bike lanes? Of course not. 

Also I think this argument in favor is important:

More consistent bike lane activity actually helps drivers notice and respect the lanes.

bb

[carey rogers]

Thanks for all the thoughts because I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to support something that would be totally unacceptable to people who actually ride bikes.

 It turns out the prohibition is in metro code and not just TLC rules. The current law lumps pedicabs with pedal taverns (the state law says they're bicycles!) and the two could not be more different. If the pedicab folks move forward we can stay involved but that's up to a councilmember who's willing to take on the issue. 

I think Matt is right about some restrictions so perhaps the law should be written to allow them in bike lanes subject to TLC rules. The operators also want to be able to operate in a broader zone which is not at all unreasonable. If you want to get a ride to a soccer game you should be able to do it. I know they're out during Titans games.