An entrepreneur’s oral history: Providing slow-paced transportation to support a balanced life

        Jimmy is a driver for Raleigh Rickshaw. Since he moved down from Washington D.C., he has enjoyed making a living from working a couple days a week at Raleigh Rickshaw and interacting with tourists and locals. While living in Washington D.C., Jimmy worked in other areas of the service and tourism industry, he has a background of working at restaurants and bars as a server and barista. As the years went on he looked to move to a less crowded city and closer to the coast. When he got to North Carolina he thought he would be going to Wilmington, he ended up liking Raleigh and the downtown area. Jimmy moved recently to Raleigh, at the beginning of summer 2016. He waited a couple of months for the temperatures to go down before he started working at Raleigh Rickshaw. 

I grew up in Virginia and then went to live in Washington D.C. living in the suburbs until I moved with a roommate into the city.  I lived in the city for the past fifteen years, ten of which I lived in a friend's basement apartment, until he decided to sell his house and I had to look elsewhere for a place to live.  Living in the city in Washington D.C. was quite expensive, so living at my friend’s place and having to pay him a smaller amount for rent, was more convenient for me.  Over the years, the city progressively expanded causing it to be increasingly populated and sometimes overcrowded.  I realized how much everything had changed from when I first moved there.

My work experience in the service industry began in D.C.  I started out in the food industry and performed many services such as catering and bartending. I also ran a couple of small food and beverage businesses with a variety of products. Like a lot of people, I started off in the food industry when I was young. I began working part-time, just to make some extra money, but I ended up enjoying it and staying in the business. During a time when I was considering studying engineering, one of my favorite restaurants opened close to where I was living so I started working there as it would provide me with some extra money, as well as free meals. I was just naturally good at it.

When I was older, a friend of mine got me into biking as a hobby.  I began participating in biking marathons and charity events, and one event happened to begin in Raleigh and end in D.C. in a span of three days- this was the first time I had been to Raleigh. I had to train hard to do this event, but I really enjoyed it as its purpose was to raise money for patients who had been diagnosed with AIDS and did not have a support system.  However, I remember Raleigh very differently from what it is now.  The city has grown so much, and I think in time it will build up more like I saw in D.C., and as I have talked to more people in the Raleigh area via bike rides, I have heard that they too are predicting the same.  I think that soon, this version of Raleigh will not be as recognizable, as it will continue to develop and increase in population.

When I recently moved to Raleigh, I quickly learned that I had to adjust to my new environment.  In Washington D.C., I had many connections within the service industry and was extremely familiar with the city.   Here in Raleigh I am the “Grandpa” and I didn’t know many people.  I learned that here, people in the restaurant or bar business are looking for younger employees as opposed to older.  This was new to me because In D.C. they wanted more people with experience.  Additionally, thinking Raleigh would be more similar to D.C., I thought the public transportation system would be efficient so I didn’t buy a car.  Clearly, public transportation is anything but efficient here since buses are always late - I think due to NC State and Shaw University being so close by.  Although, it was interesting to see how during the summer when students were not here, there was barely any traffic and the buses arrived on time.  I noticed how easily affected Raleigh is by college students.  So because of the public transportation issues, I get to where I need to be by bike.  Since I didn’t know much about the Raleigh area and biking has always been a hobby of mine, I thought that working at Raleigh Rickshaw would be perfect for me to learn more about where I am now living, as well as doing what I love.  However, by winter I hope to find some other job to be my main source of income and possibly continue doing this on the side.

At Raleigh Rickshaw our schedules are flexible. We usually sign up for our shifts depending on when we want to work, and if you can’t come to work for some reason, you just have to find someone else to fill in for you - which is typically easy.  We also work at other events outside of Downtown Raleigh. We have several partners such as: NC State University, we are the official company to work at the football games taking people from the parking lots to the game, as well as being available for transportation for the State Fair.  Therefore, when there are events that we work for outside of the Downtown area, it is important to make sure we have enough drivers to be in Downtown Raleigh and others to be at the event.  

As far as making money from working at Raleigh Rickshaw, weekdays vary greatly from weekends, and all of the money we make comes from tips. There are no set fees and no hourly pay. When you come to work you pay for your bike for your shift and then all the money you make during that shift is yours. As far as breaks go, it is up to the driver to decide when to take a break and for how long, because once I’m out on the road I’m by myself.  For me personally, I know after a couple trips I’ll usually stop to eat or rest for a little bit and then continue. Sometimes, if it’s pretty busy I might also work a double shift to make some more money. The weekends are nice because there are usually a lot of people out around Downtown, especially if an event is going on.  Since I’ve moved to Raleigh, it seems as though events are going on all the time.  It’s especially beneficial when they are spread out over the town.  As a Rickshaw driver, I am not only responsible for transporting people, I am also responsible for informing my customers of the city’s history, accommodations, and various options for entertainment or food. For example when there are multiple events in Downtown Raleigh, some people I pick up from one event are not aware of the other event happening simultaneously, so it is my job to provide them with that information.  In addition to basic transportation accommodations, we offer tours and can be hired for a wedding event as well.

During the tours, several of the Rickshaw drivers will go together with the group taking the tour and show them around several locations in Downtown Raleigh. They have an assigned route they follow for the tour but I have not done it yet. I have not been here long enough to do those tours, it is mostly a historical tour of going to see several historical sites. 

As I had hoped when I began working for Raleigh Rickshaw, I have quickly learned a lot about the city.  Since I am responsible for knowing so much information, and being able to relay it to my customers, it’s forced me to study the area or learn from my co-workers or people I take on rides.  One would think that the rides are solely for transportation or tourism purposes, but there are some customers I take who are locals but want a different perspective of the city, or simply want to relax.  

The rickshaw idea is becoming more popular and more cities are offering these services.  The rides do not only attract tourists, but locals too as sometimes seeing the area from a car, or rushing to get somewhere, is not the same as relaxing on a bike ride. Additionally, any adults with children benefit from the rides.  Many children want to get on a rickshaw for fun, and this allows parents to have a few minutes to themselves to relax. 

By: Lauryn  Amick and Jessie Apt

      NC State Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management students