Toronto’s pedal pubs can now legally serve booze on board

Doug Ford may hate bike lanes, but he’s surprisingly chill about pedal-powered party wagons disrupting downtown traffic. This week, Pedal Pub Toronto became the first of its kind in the province to snag a liquor licence, meaning those odd-looking contraptions—like someone welded a spin class to a dive bar—can now legally serve booze on board.

The set-up: 12 to 15 riders sit around a bar on wheels, pedalling furiously while a (mercifully) sober driver handles the steering. Previously, these contraptions were allowed to crawl through city streets sans booze—which, frankly, defeated the purpose—dropping riders off at various bars along the way. They were more like people-powered Ubers. Now, thanks to a regulatory shift pitched as a tourism booster, they’re rolling watering holes.

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Pedal Pub Toronto has teamed up with Collective Arts to sling craft beers, $7 vodka sodas and other ready-to-drink cocktails as a dozen or so pedallers—likely tourists, possibly a bachelorette party in matching outfits—sweat their way down King West and along the waterfront.

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There are rules, though, sort of: pedal pubs need a city-approved route, a licensed and sober driver, and $2 million in insurance. They also can’t set their wheels on roads with speed limits over 40 kilometres per hour, which unfortunately means they’ll still be sticking to the already jam-packed streets of the downtown core. But, hey, it’s a win for tourism and the ongoing liberalization of Ontario’s liquor laws—at least some of us will be enjoying a cold one while stuck in gridlock. Cheers!