Anyone who associates bicycle cabs solely with the streets of, say, Hong Kong or New Delhi would have gotten a shock if he had dropped by New York City Hall on the last day of February. It was standing room only as the City Council’s Committee on Consumer Affairs held what promises to be the first of several hearings on regulations for pedicabs. Many of those attending were my fellow pedicab owners and drivers who have made the bicycle rickshaws a staple of the Midtown streetscape.

“Regulating Rickshaws,” by Gregg Zukowski, Gotham Gazette, March 6, 2006

Bicycle taxis are weaving through the clogged streets of midtown Manhattan in a movement growing so rapidly that the city is proposing regulations before it spins out of control.
Known as pedicabs, these vehicles look like giant tricycles with a passenger carriage in the back. Some tourists and New Yorkers see them as an affordable, pollution-free way to see the city and sail through gridlock.
The City Council is examining whether this burgeoning fad, grown from a centuries-old form of transportation, needs safety and insurance standards and rate regulations.

“Bicycle Taxis Thrive on Streets of New York; City Considers Crackdown,” by Sara Kugler, Associated Press, Environmental News Network, March 8, 2006

More

• rickshaw forum
• “The bicycle harassment in NYC never ends,” bikeblog, February 14, 2006
• “Pedicabs Face Midtown Ban,” by Michael Bielawski, NYC indymedia, February 10, 2006
• “N.Y. Might Lay Down the Law on Bike Taxis,” by Walter Hamilton, The Los Angelese Times, February 27, 2006
• “Suit settlement sends pedicabs to the curb,” by John Marzulli, Daily News, March 30, 2005
• NYC Pedicab Owners Association
• Pedicab Companies
  • Cycle Planet, 917-750-2776
  • Manhattan Rickshaw Company, 212-604-4729
  • Mr. Rickshaw LLC, 917-345-4553 or 917-687-6376
  • New York Bike Tours, 917-696-9202
  • Revolution Rickshaws, 917-658-9467