State Fair Treatment of Corvallis Pedicab

By Maggie Nelson

Once again, the Corvallis Pedicab won’t be joining in on the hootin’ and hollerin’ fun down at the Oregon State Fair in Salem this weekend. With the fair asking Corvallis Pedicab to pay a fee of $550 per cab, plus a recalculated fee per ride, the tiny local pedicab service has little choice other than to pass on the event.

This price, which Pedicab owner Dan Crall sees as backbreaking, is the fair’s way of meeting him halfway after banning him from working the fair last summer.

When asked why Corvallis Pedicab had been banned, Wayne Peterson, the Oregon State Fair commercial exhibits and concessions manager, said “Our lots are not in the best condition for bicycles. Also, there simply isn’t an overall need for them here.”

Crall disagrees, saying his drivers are far more familiar with the “confusing park cluster” than the “temporary, underpaid staff working the parking lots,” even when night falls and other taxi services go home.

Corvallis Pedicab had been hired by the fair in 2009, receiving $300 per day, and participated in the fair in 2010 and 2011 without pay and without paying a vendor fee. In years past Corvallis Pedicab had been a well-paid vendor, working alongside Oregon State Fair management.

It remains unclear what has changed at the state fair that the Pedicab seems to be unwelcome now.

While Crall and company won’t be pedaling amongst the, as he refers to them, “highly toxic-smelling, gas-powered, rented golf carts” at the Oregon State Fair this year, you can catch them here in Corvallis serving the community with unique experiences, in an eco-friendly and cost-effective manner.