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Hail a Knight: Seniors found local pedicab service

Knights in Shining Armor co-founders Rick Snyder and Tony Partiva pose with their pedicabs, Oxford's newest form of transportation.

Contributed by Hayden Hyndman

By Kelly Higginson, For The Miami Student

All it takes is an idea, some good friends and a lot of leg power to start a business in the small town of Oxford. That is what senior Rick Snyder thought when he pursued the idea of bringing pedicabs to town from his hometown in Manhattan, New York.

Knights in Shining Armor began in Oxford last spring when Snyder and Anthony Pastiva saved up and bought two electric pedicabs.

"Word of mouth spread right away and we were really overwhelmed at first," Snyder said. "We couldn't handle the demand so we had to play it down a bit."

Since starting last spring, Knights in Shining Armor has received publicity from Miami alumni, Oxford taxi companies and many students. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m., there is someone out on the pedicab driving students home.

"We have all of our roommates and our house, which makes seven of us driving, but it is hard to find consistent drivers," Snyder said.

One of Snyder's roommates is an accounting major and has helped finance all of the money that Knights in Shining Armor has earned.

This year, a Miami alumni approached Snyder as an investor hoping to maybe take over the company once the boys graduate.

"That was pretty big, but right now [we] are trying to bug investors and create an alliance with businesses uptown," Snyder said.

Local Oxford taxi companies have also shown a high interest in Knights in Shining Armor.

"The local taxi companies have tried to buy us out, it was pretty funny," Snyder said.

As Knights in Shining Armor continues to pedal their way through Oxford, they hope to upgrade their current cabs and get better, more efficient ones.

"It's a lot of work pedaling up hills, especially Uptown is on a big hill," Snyder said. "We're trying to just keep it to rides home from Uptown."

According to Snyder, there is a possibility they might expand this next semester and become an exclusive transportation provider for a restaurant Uptown.

"We also want to scale at other campuses," Snyder said. "I have a friend that is super interested in the idea and might try to start it at their campus."

The company is currently paired with the Miami Venture Fund, which gave Knights in Shining Armor their loan to start the company. When Snyder and Pastiva graduate, they said they hope the company won't die off.

"I think it is a great idea and I can see myself coming back in a couple years and seeing 10 cabs out every single night," Snyder said. "It could be a unique thing for Miami."