6 minute read
Nix the car; roll in style by Tyler Hansen
NIX THE CAR,
ROLL IN STYLE
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JEFF SCOTT’S CB BIKE TAXI: LET A LONG-TIME LOCAL PEDAL YOU TO DINNER.
By Tyler Hansen
Nolan Blunck
Bikes are baked into the DNA of Crested Butte. Even in blizzards I’ve seen kids cycling to school and parents towing their children to daycare via townie. It’s glorious. But on Elk Avenue in July, cars far outnumber bikes. You can watch “Schindler’s List” in the time it takes to make a left turn. Finding a parking spot is as pleasant as a Tabasco colonic. That’s where Jeff Scott saw an opportunity.
“I’ve seen so many people hop in their car to make a five-block drive to get to dinner or whatever. I felt like I had to come up with an alternative to help folks get around that didn’t add to our congestion,” says Scott, a serial entrepreneur with flyaway hair and boundless frenetic energy. “My brain just can’t stop processing fixes and alternatives to the things we hold, do and come in contact with.”
Scott set his creativity to getting locals and visitors to leave their cars at home and make their way around town in style. His solution? A pedicab made specifically for the mean streets of Crested Butte. CB Bike Taxi was born. Perhaps not a groundbreaking concept – pedicabs have been around through the ages, even briefly in Crested Butte – but one that carries plenty of the Crested Butte special sauce that makes this place so unique.
“These machines are made in Colorado by the legend of pedicabs, Steve Meyers. They are burly, fat and functional. There’s plenty of storage, plenty of style, and more than enough funkiness to make them right at home,” says Scott.
He’s not lying. These pedicabs look like a cross between a traditional rickshaw and a pimp’s car from a Blaxploitation film. With glittery purple paint, a powerful sound system, and lighting akin to an electronic dance music concert, these pedicabs are hard to miss cruising down the street. There’s no better way to make an entrance in our mountain hamlet (short of riding in
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on horseback wearing nothing but buttless chaps… something that probably happened at some point, most likely involving Tuck. But that could get you arrested. Scott’s pedicabs are a much safer bet).
The design is just the beginning of the experience. Here in Crested Butte, we value connection. This isn’t a place to consume, get your fill and leave. This is a place to slow down, soak in, adopt as your own, and let it change you rather than the other way around. “At this moment we have a dozen or more long-time locals for drivers,” Scott says. “This is with intention. I’m hoping we can generate some conversation about what’s important to our community. The driver can become a connection to the town for those who are visiting and can reconnect to locals who want a safe ride back from the bars.”
From quick-response rides hailed from the sidewalk to reserved tours of the town’s historic alleyways, Scott sees a bountiful array of options for riders. “At this time, we have a dozen ideas for tours around town streets, alleys and paths. Ideally, we would pick up a couple at their location and give them a 15- to 30-minute ride to their dinner reservation. They can soak in a sunset or alpenglow, listen to music of their choice, have a drink, and we’ll deliver them to their destination on time. Drivers can share knowledge of the mountains and local history and people. I just want to get people out of their cars and connecting in person.”
I’ve worked alongside Jeff Scott for years. He’s a singular character in a town chock full of singular characters. When you visit his creative space, appropriately named Idea Lab, there’s detritus spread throughout the room that speaks to his creative passions: products he’s brought to market, prototypes of camping gear, custom-designed chandeliers and scribbles on the walls of the next idea swimming inside his head. It’s certain that every time I step inside his lab, he and I are going to talk about a lot more than I bargained for. That’s what makes Jeff so fun. That’s why he’s the perfect man for the job.
“We need to relieve the vehicular stress on the core of downtown. If our service can move 60-90 people to and from their destinations in a three-hour window on a busy night, can we assume that 15-30 cars will NOT be on Elk Avenue? All we can do is try,” he says.
With that, he invites my feedback on whether the antique skis he’s put in the back of the pedicab fit the vibe of the company. His cluttered mind is working hard and fast to make sure our streets are once again taken over by bikes – the way Crested Butte is supposed to be. b
To find out more, visit cbbiketaxi.com.
