When the brightly colored vehicles debuted in Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando district in mid-October, they turned heads and passersby wondered if some special event was afoot.
Most people may ride the "velotaxis" as a novelty, but the streamlined pedicabs carry between 150 and 200 passengers per day, the operator of the service estimated.
"We aim to raise awareness that we can do something to protect the environment in cities," and that this can be an alternative mode of transport, said Tomoko Hosoo of the Ecological-Cities Promoting Association, a Kyoto-based nonprofit organization that runs the 10-pedicab Velotaxi Tokyo service.