The Issue: Pedicab drivers who overcharge tourists for rides and the need to regulate their pricing.
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It’s OK to charge $100 per person to go a few blocks, but it’s against the law to take more than three people? It should be the other way around (“Rickshaw Racketeers,” Editorial, Aug. 8).
I guess I’m in the wrong business. I should get my pedicab license.
Carol Hollenbeck
Manhattan
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Pedicabs are a nuisance, not a necessity, and, like everything else, city officials have let them get out of control.
They travel in bus lanes, block traffic, park illegally. If I park my car in a no-parking zone and remain in the car, traffic agents are quick to ticket me or tell me to move.
As far as I’m concerned, they can put all of the pedicabs in one big pile and put a blowtorch to them.
Joseph Cavaliere
Valley Stream
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I have been a pedicab driver here for eight years. I love this city and the pedicab business.
Those of us who are honest want people to have a positive experience when taking a pedicab ride.
Pedicab owners and operators have spoken at public hearings chaired by City Councilman Daniel Garodnick and offered very simple solutions to this problem. All that is needed is a passenger bill of rights that clearly states that the passenger has a right to have the full price of the ride quoted up front.
The City Council and the Department of Consumer Affairs don’t care if our business self-destructs by slowly gaining a bad reputation. In the meantime, hundreds of tourists get ripped off every day. Garodnick needs to put a stop to this despicable practice.
Meredith Smyth
Manhattan