If you’ve spent a night on Lower Broadway, you’ve seen us: glowing, neon-lit tricycles weaving through downtown Nashville with a crew of happy passengers waving from the back. But when it comes time to actually find one online, things get complicated. Is it a pedal cab? A rickshaw? A bicycle taxi? A bike cab? A pedal taxi? (And is it spelled pedicab, pedi-cab, or as plenty of people type it petty cab?)
However you spell it or say it, we’re talking about the same thing, and at Local Bike Taxi, we’re Nashville’s answer to all of the above. Call us at (615) 669-2092 or visit NashvilleBikeTaxi.com to book a ride or a tour, or just flag us down on the street. This guide covers everything you need to know.
Local Bike Taxi’s neon-lit green pedicab parked in Printers Alley in downtown Nashville
What Is a Pedicab, Exactly?
A pedicab is a three-wheeled, pedal-powered taxi. A driver up front pedals while passengers ride in a covered or open carriage behind them. The concept descends from the cycle rickshaw, which took over the streets of Asian cities in the 20th century as a human-powered upgrade to the original pulled rickshaw. Today, pedicabs operate in cities all over the world, and Nashville’s downtown, with its short distances, packed streets, and legendary nightlife, might be the perfect pedicab city in America.
Depending on where you’re from, you might know them as:
- Pedicabs (the most common American term)
- Bike taxis, bike cabs, or cycle taxis
- Rickshaws or cycle rickshaws (the term some map apps use as a category)
- Trike taxis or tricycle taxis
- Pedal cabs, pedi-cabs, or yes, even petty cabs
Whatever you type into your search bar, if you’re looking for a pedal-powered ride in Nashville, you’re looking for us.
How Pedicab Rides Work in Nashville
Most of our business is beautifully simple: getting you from point A to point B downtown. You’re at a honky-tonk on Broadway and dinner is eight blocks away. You’re leaving a show at Bridgestone Arena and your hotel is uphill. Your feet hurt, the walk is long, and an Uber will spend fifteen minutes fighting traffic to move you half a mile. That’s pedicab territory.
The easiest way to get a ride is to flag us down. Our pedicabs are wrapped in fun neon lights — we think it makes us look good, and it also makes us impossible for traffic (or you) to miss. If you see us rolling by, wave. We’ll pull over.
Local Bike Taxi driver on a neon-lit pedicab in Nashville at night
For big events or hotel pickups, call ahead. On Titans game days, concert nights, and during festivals like CMA Fest, demand is high. Call us at (615) 669-2092 and we can arrange to pick you up right at your hotel.
How much does a pedicab cost in Nashville?
Rides with Local Bike Taxi start at $15 per person, that covers rides downtown on a regular night and trips over the Woodland Street Bridge for Titans games and most stadium events. For major concerts, the ride over Woodland runs a bit more than $15. Drivers appreciate tips, and on guided tours, tips are customary just like with any tour guide.
How many people fit in a pedicab?
Our pedicabs hold up to 6 people. That makes us one of the only rides downtown where your whole bachelorette party, family, or crew of college buddies can travel together, no splitting into two Ubers and meeting up later.
What payment do you take?
Most of our drivers accept cards, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and PayPal. And our favorite: cash.
The Fastest Way to Get to Nissan Stadium
Here’s where pedicabs go from “fun ride” to “genuinely the smartest transportation decision you’ll make all day.”
Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans and host to some of the biggest concerts in the country, sits on the east side of the Cumberland River, directly across from downtown. Nearly everyone attending a game or show stays, eats, and parties on the downtown side. That means one thing: you have to cross a bridge.
There are three ways over, and none of the walking options are great:
The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge is beautiful, but it’s narrow, steep in both directions, and absolutely jammed before and after events. Expect a slow shuffle shoulder-to-shoulder with 20,000 of your closest friends.
The Korean Veterans Boulevard (KVB) Bridge is the longest and steepest of the three, with cars flying past. It’s the least pedestrian-friendly walk of the bunch.
The Woodland Street Bridge is where we come in. Local Bike Taxi runs rides across Woodland Street straight to the stadium — no steep climb, no crowd shuffle, no traffic jam. You ride, you wave at the people walking, you arrive.
Why rideshares don’t solve the problem
Here’s what first-time visitors learn the hard way: Ubers, Lyfts, and Waymos mostly drop passengers on the wrong side of the river, leaving you with the same bridge walk you were trying to avoid. Game-day road closures and gridlock mean cars simply can’t get close to the stadium. Your realistic options for a ride that actually gets near the gates are a private driver, a shuttle bus, or a bike taxi.
Pedicab vs. shuttle bus: the honest comparison
The Gray Line Gameday Shuttle costs $20 roundtrip per person, effectively $10 each way, paid upfront before you ride, and it picks up at Lot 28, which isn’t really accessible from downtown. It’s also still a bus, which means it’s sitting in the same game-day traffic as every other vehicle. On Titans home gamedays, WeGo local buses currently run free and drop off on Woodland Street near the bridge, a solid budget option if you don’t mind the lines.
Here’s the trade-off: when the game ends, tens of thousands of people head for the same handful of buses and bridges at the exact same time. Our rides over the Woodland Street Bridge are $15 per person for Titans games and most events (major concerts run a little more), we pick you up where you actually are, your hotel, Broadway, the stadium gates, and you’re moving while the bus line is still forming. Heading back downtown after the game, we’ll get you over the bridge to the top of the hill, and from there it’s an easy three-block stroll down to Broadway. It’s all downhill, we did the hard part. No cramming in, no waiting, no gridlock. Open air, neon lights, and you’re back in the middle of it before your group chat finishes arguing about where to eat.
Bottom line: pedicabs are the easiest way in and out of large events in Nashville. If saving dollars matters most, the bus is there for you. But when the crowd surges toward the bridges after the final whistle, the folks gliding past on a neon-lit trike are the ones who figured it out.
It’s Not Just Titans Games
Nissan Stadium hosts massive concerts all year, and concert crowds face the exact same bridge problem as football crowds, often without knowing it’s coming. If you’re heading to a stadium show, plan your crossing before you go (or just look for the glowing trikes).
Downtown, we’re part of the nightly rhythm: Broadway bar-hopping, Bridgestone Arena events, dinner runs, bachelorette parties, CMA Fest, New Year’s Eve, anywhere the streets are full and the distances are just a little too far to walk in boots you bought yesterday.
Happy riders on a pink neon pedicab in downtown Nashville
We also run guided pedicab tours of Nashville. There’s no better way to see downtown than from an open-air seat with a local pedaling and pointing out the spots you’d never find on your own. Book tours at NashvilleBikeTaxi.com.
Local Bike Taxi Pink Pedicab Tour guest relaxing in a furry, neon-lit pedicab in Nashville
Are Pedicabs Safe?
It’s a fair question, and one of the best reasons to ride. Pedicabs have a remarkable track record in Nashville. In a city that unfortunately sees a lot of pedestrian deaths, there has never been a pedicab death here, and incidents involving pedicabs are rare. Our cabs are lit up with bright neon lighting, which isn’t just for looks, it makes us highly visible to traffic day and night. You’re riding with a sober, professional driver who navigates these exact streets every single night.
Compare that to walking a steep, crowded bridge in the dark or crossing busy downtown streets after a few rounds on Broadway, and the pedicab starts looking like the responsible choice, one that happens to be the most fun choice, too.
Rain or Shine? Mostly.
For Nissan Stadium events, we operate rain or shine, the game’s happening either way, and so are we. On a rainy regular Tuesday night downtown, though, don’t be surprised if the trikes stay home. When in doubt, give us a call.
How to Ride with Local Bike Taxi
- Flag us down. See a neon-lit pedicab downtown? Wave. That’s the whole system.
- Call ahead for events. Titans games, stadium concerts, and hotel pickups: (615) 669-2092.
- Book online. Rides and guided tours at NashvilleBikeTaxi.com.
Pedicab, rickshaw, bike taxi, trike taxi, petty cab, call us whatever you want. Just make sure you call us before you walk that bridge.