hello? rickshaw!

Pedicabs, more commonly known as rickshaws thoughout Asia, can increasingly be found 'round Manhattan (though hardly on a cold winter day), and that has the City Counci's attention, reports Newsday. The growth of the rickshaw industry here is frankly both astounding but not shocking. Given the clogged traffic lanes, given that horse-drawn carriages don't delight everyone, and given the novelty factor, perhaps it was bound to happen that pedicabs would spread. But just as every pedestrian who has been annoyed by a bicyclist knows, and just as every bicyclist who has been annoyed by a taxi knows, and just as every taxi driver who has been annoyed by just about every other moving form of transportation (except a subway train) knows, pedicabs present a new and unique problem.
First off, there is the fare, which for frequent travellers to Asia should be no problem to calculate: you decide what you want to pay. The fine art of negotiation notwithstanding, probably most pedicab drivers will be willing to compromise and reach a fair price. As in Bangkok, however, upon reaching your destination an unpleasant surprise could possibly await you: the driver says you have no deal and your agreement is null and void. Yet this is likely the exception, rather than the rule. Probably the passenger will wind up trying to cheat the driver, which constantly happens with the sponge-dough rube tourists. Taxi drivers consistently tell me that many first-time tourists believe that they need not pay East River tolls coming from LGA or JFK airports because the taxi doesn't actually stop to pay the toll. Since the toll gets deducted via the mandatory EZ-Pass, therefore the tourists refuse to pay it, thinking it a scam. Then there are the tourists (and locals) who refuse to tip....
Second, there is the fare. A pedicab ride costs way more than a taxi ride, the opposite of what one usually experiences in Asia. Hey, we aren't in Asia, I'm well aware of that. But given that these pedicab drivers are unlicensed and insured, there are other factors at work here, especially since you are paying more than in a taxi. They have not gone through vehicle inspection or standard training. One can easily think of new strategies for an unscrupulous pedicab driver to cheat passengers. Now I realize the majority of these pedicab drivers are wonderful, and I constantly hear rave reviews. I've never actually tried it because living in Calcutta with human-pulled rickshaws as I did some years ago, I find the whole thing nauseating. (To each his own, right?) Moreover, I used to bike around Manhattan and became convinced I'd wind up dead in a casket if I kept it up. I also didn't like breathing in exhaust fumes or getting honked at every 20 seconds much either.
Third, there is the fare. These drivers aren't struggling the way taxi drivers are. Get a load of this: During peak season from April through December, a driver can earn $2,000 a week and as much as $800 on a Saturday, said Bryn Bryant, a 25-year-old yacht broker who pedals a couple of times a week. In other words, those who oppose some regulation for safety are simply afraid to vocalize the fear factor: the fear it would cut into their profits. It would take only one accident involving serious injuries or death for this industry to be completely regulated, so probably some form of regulation is inevitable, sooner rather than later.
update: although Newsday ran this story, it was written (oddly enough) by the L.A. Times

Tags:   pedicabs, regulation, rickshaw, taxis

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Posted on 2/27/2006 ( Permanent Link )
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