It’s trendy for businesses to look for ways to reduce their carbon footprints and in South Africa, Mellowcabs plans to provide emission-free pedicabs nationwide.

Pedicabs are high-tech, electrically assisted human-powered vehicles that facilitate transport solutions across a broad spectrum, according to the company website. The vehicles are electrically powered three-wheeled, open-air cabs. A driver sits in the front, and two passengers with luggage fit comfortably in the back.

Advertisements constantly scroll across a screen as riders go on their journey, allowing local businesses in the area to easily spread their messages to tourists.

Neil du Preez, managing director at Mellowcabs, said he did a lot of research about successful business strategies, entrepreneurs, business principles, sectors and ethics before starting to embark on his own business venture about two years ago.

“I started Mellowcabs with Richard Branson’s philosophy that ‘A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts,’” he said.

Mellowcabs‘ main source of income is not carrying passengers, but selling advertising space on and in the vehicles Du Preez said.

“Our Mellowcabs have been designed to be very safe and extremely visible, and to offer optimum advertising space on an aesthetically pleasing design,” said du Preez. “Mellowcabs will typically operate in a limited urban radius of three-to-four kilometers, and will not compete with other transport systems such as trains, buses or taxis, but rather feed into and complement existing networks.”

A single Mellowcab can provide more than 120 kilometers of transport per day. All vehicles are also equipped with on-board tablet computers, which offer an interactive experience to passengers. The tablets feature their own propriety software, which includes geo-activation advertising and full social media integration. The vehicles are made from recycled materials, and feature state-of-the-art electric motors and batteries, du Preez told AfkInsider in an email.

The company plans to pitch the product in other countries in the future, including the U.S.

Melanie Venter, head of public transportation at Stellenbosch Municipality, said Mellowcabs will help out with what she refers to as “last-mile” transportion.

“Last-mile transport includes the short-distance trips at the beginning and end of transport trips,”  Venter said. For example, “the short trip from your house to the public transport stop or the short trip from the public transport stop to your place of work.”

Deon Sloane, a security agent for Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a tourism destination in Africa, said the use of this service would greatly benefit tourists.

“To operate on the peripheral areas around the waterfront would compliment the service to visitors to Cape Town,” Sloane said in a letter of intent to Mellowcabs.

Rob Collins, chief marketing officer of Tsogo Sun Holdings Limited, said the company plans to use Mellowcabs in many of its world-class entertainment venues.

“We would like to see Mellocabs operating at our hotels, gaming and entertainment destinations,” Collins said in an operating proposal to Mellowcabs.

Bill Morris, product development specialist at Winelands Experience in Franschhoek, South Africa, said Mellowcabs will bring more people to Franschoek.

“Franschoek is a place that ranks amongst the highest visited by tourists in South Africa,” Morris said. “It has no public transport infrastructure and all visitors have to walk, use their own cars or call Winelands Experience to take them on very short shuttle journeys within the village.”

Morris said Mellowcab is the first all electric transport that has potential to provide inner-village transfers and tours.

“This means more ‘bums in beds’, sittings at restaurants and more business for everyone,” Morris said.

Residents and tourists can expect to see Mellowcabs on the streets as early as Spring 2014.

“We have just completed the testing phase with our first prototypes, and are going into full production of the vehicles now,” du Preez said.

The company will also be creating jobs to fuel the local economy.

“We are hiring drivers,” said du Preez. “Anyone interested can inquire at the website.”