Perth's First Rickshaw

By Pavlina Kolouskova

Zac Duggan, 23 year old bachelor student of Psychology and Journalism at Murdoch University, has just launched his new business in Perth Peddle: “a consious transport that brings back the interaction.”

Zac, what is your new business and does it link to your major at Murdoch at all?

Since I major in Psychology which links to everything in life and underlines all the weird yet wonderful things that humans do, I would say it links. The business is a rickshaw taxi service called Peddle. It is a mixture of a tour guide service and taxi since we are showing all the good sides of Perth while stopping for a slice of pizza and a whiskey. It is just like UBER – except way more fun, with music and environmentally friendly.

“I tried to paddle back while she was pulling and ripping the skirt from the wheel”

How did you come up with the idea?

Every February, there is a festival in Australia called “The Fringe World” where all the weird comedy and circus act. They had some rickshaws as a way of transport, and I though to myself: wow, this is super cool. While seeing them on the streets in Europe, I liked how they always added a new layer to the city. And so I decided: If I won’t do it somebody else will and I will regret it for the rest of my life. (smiles)

How long did it take to implement it since your initial idea?

I started making plans and calling people in September 2016. I made a formal proposal to the City Council that month, but since they got back to me in March 2017, I moved away from it a little bit. When I got the approval later I realised that it’s actually going to happen. Therefore it took six months in total and I still have so much to learn.

What was the most unexpected obstacle?

On the second day I was peddling two lovely ladies and one of them had a white skirt that got tangled into the rickshaw’s wheel. The rickshaw stopped and I tried to paddle back while she was pulling and ripping the skirt from the wheel. Thank god it was double layer. At the end we managed, but this happened in the middle of Murray street on a busy Saturday night, so I was thinking that it is a giant failure. I gave her a hug, apologised and peddled them where they wanted. She still decided to pay me though. I don’t think I will forget that. (laughs)

What is so unique about your business?

It’s unique for Perth – it’s not new for the world since rickshaws are very old. People take taxis or an Uber very often and I would like Peddle to be more personal while being almost disruptively and overwhelmingly fun. This includes remembering everybody’s names and having nice conversations instead of unconscious ones.

If you had one piece of advice for young entrepreneurs, what would it be?

I have two advices. First, you have to make yourself and others believe that it will happen since you cannot do this on your own. The other one is that you have to do so much more work than you will ever imagine. But you will love it. (smiles)

How would someone book your Rickshaw?

0411448724 or http://www.peddleperth.com