Last year at the ASUG08 Annual Conference, co-located with SAP Sapphire, I was amused to see bicycle taxi drivers, human rickshaws, on the streets of Orlando Florida, wearing the logos of a major database vendor. I thought, "what do bikes and RDBMSes have in common?" The answer is still unclear.
I am not sure who sponsored the small local firm that owns the bicycle taxis ("Redi-Pedi-Cab Company") last year. As I walked between my hotel and the convention center I spotted several drivers taking riders up and down International Drive. I then saw a group of them hanging around near the convention center. I blogged about the dilemma they faced with security not allowing them equal status with the fossil-fuel powered buses, trucks and cars that also moved people around the vicinity.
I asked one of the bike drivers to get my picture - this is me with Mark.
In the year since the last conference, I made contact with the small-business, (minority, woman) owner, Catherine Ojeda, first via email, then via FaceBook, and just this week, via her twitter account: http://twitter.com/pedicab
She has been searching in vain, so far, for a sponsor for the week of ASUG/Sapphire. reached out to a couple folks at SAP, but nothing has worked out yet. Yesterday, Catherine told me the convention center security people told her her pedi-cabs won't be allowed on the grounds. I hope she is able to work through whatever misconceptions and prejudices that are preventing this unique, environmentally friendly transportation alternative from equal rights to the roads.
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