Urban cabs, hybrid pedal power rickshaws, arrive in Paris

Can the vehicle above become a new icon of emission-free transportation in the City of Love? Perhaps, as Paris now has a small fleet of hybrid pedal rickshaws, similar to those in Rome and Valencia. The rickshaw service, called Urban-Cab, is defined as an "intermediate non-polluting solution between a bus and a taxi." The rickshaws operate on a route that passes along the Bastille, the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame - basically where tourists want to go. The rickshaws are powered not only by pedal power, but also a battery and an electric motor that assists on steep grades. Urban-Cab claims that these are a completely carbon-free means of transport and they expect to have more than 100 units around Paris by the end of this year.