NYC: regs that make you go hmmmm

I know the City Council is trying to be "fair", but it seems to me that the process for receiving permits is crazy. I read the information at the web site for the New York City Pedicab Owners Association (nycpoa.org), and all I can say is "hmmmmm".

There's no allowance for larger or older fleets who built the industry in NYC. There's nothing for local operations with pedicabs in NYC prior to the deadline. (Hmmmm, maybe we should move some of our fleet from Denver to NYC.)

Funny that the City Council should have so many issues with pedicabs, while promoting them as part of the NYC experience. Rather than working with pedicab owners to develop regulations that solve the real issues, they've chosen to marginalize an entire industry. It appears that they want to ensure that pedicabs are nothing more than a novelty for tourists instead of making them part of a real solution to problems of traffic congestion and air quality.

These new regs may prohibit someone from selling their pedicab business. Since licenses are not transferable, except to a vehicle within the same fleet, would someone who wants to buy your business have to go to the bottom of the waiting list? If so, how long might it take to finally receive your new permits? Or would the the licenses be part of the sale of the business?

As for the waiting list, if you requested 20 permits, would you have to wait until all 20 were available, or would you receive them one at a time as they become available?

I hope that the regulations on safety inspections are more clear (which I'm sure they're not), rather than being open to the arbitrary interpretation and opinion of individuals who know little if anything about pedicabs. We've seen this create problems elsewhere. In Oklahoma City, a person of authority suddenly decided that pedicab drivers needed to have a physical before being licensed. And a ski resort town wanted to regulate the color of pedicabs and limit advertisers to locally-owned businesses, although major manufacturers of sports equipment and apparel had ads throughout the town. Hmmmm.

And what's with not riding in the bike lanes? If they're worried about safety in traffic, why keep pedicabs out of the bike lane and force them into traffic? Are there that many cyclists on the city streets?

At the risk of sounding trite... can't we all just get along? Doesn't anybody talk to one another anymore? I would think that in a city the size of New York there would be plenty of business for everyone. Rather than being afraid of competition, why not embrace it and find a way to work together? Taxis, black cars, carriages and pedicabs serve different markets, although I'll admit that there may be some overlap. Maybe focusing on the passengers -- your customers -- and delivering high-quality service would be more beneficial than all this squabbling. I find it hard to believe that a few hundred pedicabs would be such a grave threat to the thousands of taxis operating in NYC.

As consultants to pedicab operations throughout North America, we work hard to bring legitimacy to this developing industry. With legitimacy comes regulation. We support reasonable regulation. When well thought out and enforced, regulations can level the playing field and protect all stakeholders. When poorly designed, they can become little more than red tape and bureaucracy that serves no one.

I don't claim to be an expert on pedicabs in New York City; the NYCPOA is. But in my opinion, these regulations are far from reasonable. Hmmmm.

Read this article from AM New York (below) and visit the NYCPOA web site for more insight into the new regs. Then read the article posted prior to this, Pedicabs a California Polution Solution, and consider how Fresno, California is utilizing pedicabs for cleaner air.

Agency proposes limits on number of pedicabs
July 4, 2007

Fewer bicycle cabs will be pedaling around New York this fall if rules to license only 325 of the cabs are adopted next month.

The city Department of Consumer Affairs proposed new rules this week that were passed by the City Council earlier this year, limiting the number of pedicabs and mandating that the cyclists have valid U.S. drivers licenses.

Only people who owned cabs before April can apply for the plates, and owners can apply for up to 30 licenses. The New York Pedicab Owners Association said in a written statement that the process favors individuals over organized fleets that built the pedicab industry.

Individuals "simply need to sign a statement indicating they were operating [even without insurance] for one year prior to" April, said the pedicab association president Peter Meitzler.

The City Council voted to regulate the industry in April after a mayoral veto. Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to boost the number of plates to about 500.

The Consumer Affairs department will hold a public hearing on the proposed rules in August, hoping to finalize them soon after.

Proponents of the new rules have said the industry needs to be regulated and insured. Opponents have claimed the rules will take away jobs from the more than 500 pedicab cyclists already on the road.