Pedestrians looking for a lift around Dublin's city centre will soon be keeping an eye out for a new kind of transport: a futuristic-looking, pedal-powered, environmentally-friendly cab.
A small fleet of the high-tech rickshaws, which are already used in 50 cities around the world, is set to make its Dublin debut next Sunday.
Each "Ecocab" can carry two passengers, who can travel for free within a 1.5-km radius around the GPO on O'Connell Street.
And while the Ecocab's operators - most of them longtime cyclists and triathletes - generate most of the driving power by pedalling, the cabs are also equipped with silent, emission-free electrical power.
Two 12-volt batteries power the indicator lights and regulate the motor, which can provide a boost to a driver hauling a heavy load or starting up a hill.
Andrew Casey, director of Dublin-based Ecocabs Ireland, which operates the service, said the 140-kg cabs are nearly the size of a small car, though they can operate just as other bicycles do on the city's streets.
"By law, the cabs are allowed to go anywhere bicycles are. These are very safe vehicles, and we have this entirely cleared and backed by the Government."
The company covers the costs of the free service by leasing sponsorship space on the cabs to companies and organisations for periods of one-month. Mr Casey said several businesses have already indicated interest in long-term sponsorship of the cabs. "As long as companies are willing to sponsor it, we'll keep the service free."
Initially, five Ecocabs will run daily in Dublin, though the company hopes to expand the fleet before summer. The service's organisers hope the presence of the muscle-powered cabs will promote environmental awareness among commuters and discourage short-distance taxi rides.
"It's not just tourists we're trying to appeal to, but also general pedestrians, Dublin citizens," Mr Casey said.
Riders can pick up the cabs at any of five designated points: the Spire on O'Connell Street, the top and bottom of Grafton Street, the Dublin Tourism Centre on Suffolk Street and the Central Bank on Dame Street.