Cycles of all sorts

Velotaxis can also provide a public transport service like buses, and taxicabs.

A cycle rickshaw, also known as a pedicab, velotaxi, or trishaw, is a human-powered vehicle for hire, usually with one or two seats for carrying passengers in addition to the driver. Cycle rickshaws are widely used for transportation in many parts of Asia, where they have largely replaced less-efficient rickshaws that are pulled by a person on foot.

The vehicle is powered by the driver as one would a bicycle, though some rare configurations also have an electric motor assisting the driver. The vehicle is usually a tricycle, though some quadricycles exist, and some bicycles with trailers are configured as rickshaws. The configuration of the driver's and passenger's seat varies, though in general only one configuration is common in any given region. For example, in South Asia, the passenger seat is mounted behind the driver's, while in Indonesia the driver sits behind the passenger seat. In the Philippines, the seats are usually mounted side-by-side.

Cycle rickshaws are known as cyclo (pronounced see-clo) in Cambodia and Vietnam, cycle rickshaw in India and Bangladesh, samlor (literally "three wheels") in Thailand, trishaw (Traditional Chinese: 三輪車; Simplified Chinese: 三轮车; pinyin: sān lún chē) from "tricycle rickshaw", in Malaysia and Singapore, becak in Indonesia and bicitaxi or taxi ecologico (literally "ecological taxi") in Mexico. In the Philippines, they are called tricycle/traysikel, traysikad, pedicab, or padyak. Cycle rickshaws are known as saika in Myanmar, a transliteration of English "side car".

Cycle rickshaws are also used in some European cities, such as Soho and Covent Garden in London, where they are most often found near tourist attractions. In North America, San Diego and New York City each host hundreds of pedicabs; dozens of other North American cities also have pedicab services. There are several American and European manufacturers of cycle rickshaws, which often incorporate features not found in developing-world vehicles, such as hydraulic disc brakes and lightweight fibreglass bodies.

In Taiwan, pedicabs must be registered by their owners with the police before they can be legally driven on public roads. Their drivers must carry the police registration documents or risk a fine, but no driver license is required. As Taiwanese road traffic is now heavily motorized, most pedicabs have been replaced by taxicabs, but they can still be found at limited places, such as Cijin District of Kaohsiung City.