Pedicab Operators See Loss of Livelihood in de Blasio’s Central Park Plan

Ask the animal rights activists if they'd approve of banning all horses and allowing the pedicab drivers to pull the carriages. It's a great solution keeping everyone employed. Bet they wouldn't care so much about human rights, eh?

Mayor de Blasio campaigned on eliminating the horses from Central park on humanitarian grounds. Now, the plan is to reduce the number of horses and build a new $25 million stable. Sounds fishy. What happens to the old stable ?
Will it be turned into a park or given to some lucky individual to build luxury condos ? We do not need horses in NYC. The elected officials would do well to stick to their promises.

As a New Yorker that commutes through the park, I'm frequently seeing the pedicabs blocking traffic, riding 2 or 3 abreast, making abrupt turns etc. They're presence makes for a less safe park drive. On an aesthetic level their presence compares unfavorably with the horse driven carriages that create a sense of romance. Couples getting married sometimes take horse drawn carriage rides through the park and take pictures, the same cannot be said of the pedicabs.

They absolutely should be banned. Not just in Central Park, but throughout the city. They hold up traffic, causing additional stress to pedestrians and cars.

'...it cited one example of a Texas family paying $442 for a 12-minute ride...'

Were they somehow forced to pay this ridiculous fee?

I also have found some--not all--of the pedicab drivers in Central Park bullying and disrespectful. Central Park has become more pleasant since automobiles were banned above 72nd Street, so perhaps banning pedicabs below 86th Street would also benefit pedestrians. I am not sure what to think about the future of carriage horses in the Park. Are they happy there? If only they could let us know!

Its hard to believe that this is driven by animal "rights" arguments. If these animals aren't pulling carriages then they wont exist. They are only here because they are needed. No need, no carriage horses.

And the slaughter restrictions are laughable. An animal that dies is often left to rot where it fell. And by not allowing the humane slaughter, unneeded horses are neglected and starved.

I applaud the new pedicab rules. The park should be for people to use, not cars, horse-drawn carriages or pedicabs. These things are a danger to pedestrians and should be restricted or banned. Most of the operators lack proper documentation or insurance. We need to keep the city's overcrowded streets from getting overrun by unauthorized entrepreneurs, including sidewalk food carts and sellers of all types of junk. Anyone that has been to Mumbai or Mexico City can attest to the dirt and squalor that occurs when street peddlers are not kept in check. Let's beware!

Pedicabs have a horrible reputation, and as a guy who works in Central Park most of it is well-deserved. I walk by a collection of them just about every day near Bethesda Fountain. Their posted rates range from $2.99 to $5 a minute, and they are super-aggressive with those holding maps and/or cameras. In their defense they do occasionally offer to cut a single rate for a 30 or 60 minute tour but these are still very pricy. Many of them clog pathways and roadways, go the wrong way against traffic, and are generally a nuisance. It's always a drag when an 'industry' (if you can call them that) is compromised due to a few (or in this case quite a few) bad apples. I'm all for animal rights, and I think the compromise that's being sorted out for the horse carriage industry is just (stables in the park, etc). But note that a horse carriage costs $50 for the first 20 minutes ($2.50 per minute). I've never seen a pedicab rate this low, and I'd much rather take a horse cab through the park.

If you dislike pedicabs or the people who operate them then don't go for a ride in a pedicab. There's no harm in letting people have the option.

That said, De Blasio should stop wasting his time with this nonsense. There are bigger fish to fry.

I don't like them either, but unless someone is forcing you into a pedicab and stealing your wallet (that's kidnapping and robbery) you DO have the choice to not take the ride, and not pay the ridiculous price. if some tourist is dumb enough to not agree to a price ahead of time, then they deserve whatever bill they get. Of course, you can simply refuse to pay and offer that they ride you to the nearest police officer if they disagree.

Of all the complaints about pedicabs in these comments, none makes it sound like a ban from CP below 85th St. is a good solution.

Pedicabs are very dangerous, specially because of the aggressive driving style of so many of the cabbies. They also slow down traffic. It s insane to have them in a city this size. Horse drawn carriages also slow down traffic plus it's cruel to subject horses to the fumes, noise and traffic danger. It always breaks my heart to see them working in such horrible conditions, specially in inclement weather. It's barbaric.

Everyone should have a job who wants one but those third world county contraptions do not belong on the streets of NYC competing for space with cars and buses. And the same applies to horses. They can share the park.

Stop any more construction of NEW structures in Central Park! We have little green as it is and I don't want to subsidise a stable.

Nothing more depressing than watching a bunch of fat tourists in horse carriages in wild traffic in midtown. I have to look away.

Why on earth would anyone take a pedicab in the age of Uber?

They may serve a purpose in a seaside resort village but they make no sense at all in NYC.

It's hard to believe that out of all the problems and issues New York City faces this is the one cluttering the conversation and distracting people who should be focusing elsewhere. Tell you what, you can start with homeless, hungry or abused children and when you solve that you can begin moving down the list from there.

99% of animal suffering is due to people eating flesh, eggs, and dairy. And that suffering is truly horrific, for every minute of these defenseless individuals lives. (Don't believe the deceptive labeling suggesting otherwise.)

Just because that abuse is hidden from view and these horses are out in the open does not mean we should have illogical priorities.

Eat plants instead and the world will be a vastly better place. Nothing else even comes close.

Don't blame or punish the horses because this deal hurts pedicabs. I grew up and lived near Central Park. All my life, I've suffered seeing these majestic animals struggling through insane traffic: sirens, fire engines, fast driving cabbies. Horses are flight animals. It is barbaric to have them in the middle of 21st century traffic. "Tradition" is no excuse for animal abuse. The correct decision would be to allow more pedicabs and zero horses. But, the politicians controlling this process are, in turn, controlled by business interests that want to keep the carriage industry stumbling along, refusing to see they are on the wrong side of history. As for pedicabs, if someone doesn't want to ride them because they think they're overpriced, then walk.

I always liked De Blasio, but I was disgusted to learn that he and Teamsters secretly dragged pedicabs into their conflict with one another. It's outrageous that those two parties have the nerve to even ask to ban such an institution that can, despite any problems, be so wonderful--especially when that ban is conjured from nowhere, in negotiations that pedicab drivers were not even aware of, let alone invited to!

If anyone wants to ban pedicabs from any part of the city, let them propose standalone legislation for that purpose (though I would oppose that too).

Quick anecdote: a very dear aunt of mine from Scotland who passed away in 2012 used to visit us in the NYC area every few years. On her last visit, she and my mother took a purely touristic pedicab ride around Central Park. They loved it, and my elderly mom remembers it well.

Finally, regarding any complaints New Yorkers have about pedicabs, banning them from Central Park is a stupid--and in the case of this deal between the Mayor and carriage drivers, flagrantly unethical--way of addressing those complaints.

Pedicabs are the blight of Key West. They slow traffic in downtown to a standstill. They should be banned.

As a New Yorker, I shed no tears for pedicab operators. On the whole, they are an aggressive and obnoxious lot, and their prices are outrageous. They serve no function other than making the streets dangerous, interfering with traffic, and fleecing the occasional wide-eyed tourist. Perhaps simply feeding them to the horses might be a solution that would yield the best of all possible outcomes.

Pedicabs are ridiculous in a city of this size, with as many cars. This isn't Asia and allowing them here was ridiculous in the first case. Traffic needs to flow in New York and pedicabs are an impediment, especially in midtown. Is Mr. Barrie here legally, does he pay taxes, is he legally allowed to vote. Those are the questions I want answered before I care about his cause. And as for de Blasio, he just throws mud at the wall and hopes it sticks, he is a lousy mayor and even this back tracks on his stated goal of eliminating carriage horses. I don't really care, it's just another interest group, but this guy stands for nothing.

And another New York tradition gets downsized to political correctness. Pedicabs will be back, with all their underhanded swindling of the unwitting tourist trade. de Blasio and like minded nitwits won't give up until all horse drawn carriages are banned. You know it't true. It's war by attrition, as usual for the Democrat party which is more and more controlled by far left liberals.

No sympathy here either. At Grand Central Station, one offered to get us to the theater faster than a cab. 3 blocks later I asked the time and it was $40 so we quickly got off. If we had stayed on the fee would have been over $100 easily and we would have been able to walk faster. A New Yorker told me the real reason behind getting rid of the horses in CP is to develop the stable space. Makes sense to me. I guess New York is becoming dysfunctional again.

I'm sorry, but as a frequent visitor to NYC and someone who loves the City--and Central Park, Pedicab prices & practices are nothing if not outrageous. They would potentially have some support if prices were more in line with the service they provide. You only have to calculate what a 30 minute ride would be and then wonder who says yes? Add to that preying on tourists and those who may not carefully read the rate sheets or have trouble reading English and it's easy to see why there no sympathy for them.

Since when are business owners owed a profit?

Wagon wheel repairmen are also seeing loss of livelihood due to combustion engines and rubber tires.

When you enter the southwest corner of Central Park, these guys form a barricade that you have to swerve to avoid. They harangue and harass you and if you pay the simple courtesy of not ignoring them will not stop bothering you. Do any of them have legal status? The sooner they leave and stop badgering New Yorkers and tourists alike, the happier almost everyone will be.

I don't feel bad for these guys at all. They're arrogant and annoying. They respect no one and badger tourists. Good riddance.

If someone hires a pedicab without first establishing the cost, then shame on them. I've only used a pedicab once - I could not find a cab, I have breathing problems and could not walk all the way to my son's office in a reasonable time, so it was a lifesaver for me and no more expensive than a cab would have been, but much faster. I'm a fan! But not below 85th St? de Blasio has done some puzzling things since he took office, but this one takes the prize. They're a godsend when every single cab has its "out of service" light on!