The city is forcing pedicab drivers to register and license their vehicles — but passengers can still be taken for a ride when it comes to the cost of their tricycle trip.
Pedicab owners have the leeway to change their prices daily — or even on the fly — as long as they have their rates posted, according to the city’s new rules that go into effect Saturday.
Patrick O’Donovan, who recently registered 10 pedicabs under his name, said he would charge $50 for a 20-minute ride during the holiday season. He said the price would drop to $10 from January to April.
“I can have five different rate cards,” he boasted. “At Christmas and the summertime, it’ll go up. When it’s slow, the rates will go down.”
The owner said he was using a $12 stopwatch as a meter — which the city approved after inspectors made sure it kept accurate time and saw that it would be in clear view of passengers.
Another recently registered pedicab company uses a bike odometer for its rates, which consist of a $10 initial fee and $20 for each additional 1.5 miles.
“We had to roll the bike up and back with it during the city’s inspection to make sure it was calibrated correctly,” said David Sirk, who manages Manhattan Pedicab.
The Department of Consumer Affairs, which registers the bikes, said each meter is checked as part of a 16-point inspection process.
By yesterday, 519 of the vehicles had been registered. Fourteen were rejected, with inspectors citing reasons ranging from the improper display of rate cards to inoperable brakes.