Wednesday, December 31, 1997
What ever happened to the motorized rickshaws that used to run through Waikiki? Motor rickshaws
ran out of steamLegal requirements did in the Hale-Kane Rickshaw Taxi Co., a colorful enterprise that featured drivers wearing caps with artificial pigtails who gave rides for standard cab fares. It worked out of a fixed stand in Waikiki to comply with the city's anti-cruising ordinance.
The rickshaws ran for only six weeks in 1966, plying not only Waikiki but also downtown, as well as runs to Fisherman's Wharf and Kahala Hilton. Hawaii's only rickshaw business boasted six jaunty black-topped, bright-red motorized rickshaws, each an $1,800 investment.
Hadley H. Boynton, president and principal stockholder, said the business was capitalized at $30,000 with 35 stockholders. After it officially dissolved, Boynton's wife, Jane, eulogized the experiment. "We worked for it for two years before we got all the requirements necessary to start," she said. "After that we only operated about six weeks and in that length of time we never could get more than two drivers."
Finding drivers was the biggest headache, she said. Stringent city requirements kept many otherwise qualified drivers from taking exams for chauffeur's licenses.
"Our first week in operation it rained for four days, a real downpour, water curb to curb, that sort of thing." But what really sent the business down the drain was the Public Utilities Commission. After three weeks of operations, Hale-Kane had to shut down and await rulings on variances, it said.