Bottcher Takes Dead Aim At Loud, Scammy Pedicabs In Hell's Kitchen

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Pedicabs have taken over much of the Theater District, Hell's Kitchen and Times Square, and it's not great, according to Council Member Erik Bottcher's constituents.

The bike-cabs blast music so loud that it ruins Broadway shows, and some are blatantly ripping their riders, with one charging over $25 per minute for a ride, Bottcher says.

And the city needs to step up to help reign in this wild west side of pedicabs in Midtown and Hell's Kitchen, Bottcher demands in a letter addressed to the heads of three city agencies on Wednesday.

The Council Member said that the current state of how regulations were being enforced regarding pedicabs has left him "concerned."

"The impact of pedicabs, particularly in relation to Broadway theaters, residential neighborhoods, and tourist experiences, has prompted an immediate call for action to improve the oversight and regulation of these vehicles," Bottcher writes.

He says his office has received a deluge of pedicab complaints regarding their noise and pricing.

Pedicabs often blast music outside of Broadway theaters that's so loud it can be hear during performances, Bottcher says, volumes way outside of the guidelines in the New York City noise code.

And if the noise wasn't enough, Bottcher claims that he has also received multiple complaints of riders being overcharged, especially tourists.

"One particularly alarming example involved a couple being charged an exorbitant fee of over $500 for a 20-minute ride," Bottcher says in his letter.

Pedicabs are required by law to display pricing structure of the ride on the exterior of the pedicab — much like a yellow NYC taxi — and drivers are supposed to give potential passengers an information card with that info before they enter the cab.

Fees outside of what are listed are technically illegal, but for years, stories have circulated of pedicab riders getting gouged after relatively short rides, infuriating riders and honest pedicab drivers alike.

Now, Bottcher is asking for those three city agencies — the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, the NYPD and the Department of Environmental Protection — to step up and figure out a way to enforce the current regulations as well as develop new rules to keep the noise, and the scams, off the streets for good.