Police carried out a crackdown on dozens of illegal pedicabs Wednesday, seizing more than 70 of them in popular spots throughout Midtown Manhattan.
Officers seized 77 pedicabs, one moped and two speakers near Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Times Square and the Empire State Building, according to the NYPD. As part of the sting, 100 summonses were issued.
City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who represents much of Midtown and last month called for stricter enforcement of scofflaw bike cabs, hailed the news Thursday in a post on Instagram.
“Pedicabs can be fun but they need to follow the rules,” Bottcher’s post reads. “They’ve been out of control recently and I’m happy to see that our calls for enforcement are beginning to see some results.”
In a letter to city agencies reported by Patch, the councilmember said his office had received a surge of complaints about pedicab noise and pricing, with multiple people claiming to have been overcharged, especially tourists.
Ibrahim Donmez, who runs New York Pedicab Services, a business that connects customers to pedicab drivers, said he has also been getting complaints about overcharging from tourists hoping to amend their charges.
He said he told them they had most likely been scammed by drivers unaffiliated with his business, and directed them to the Bottcher’s office for help.
“I’ve been pushing for enforcement that needed to address the frauds and scams that have been happening with the pedicabs,” Donmez told Gothamist. “It’s a culture of scammers we’re dealing with in the middle of the city.”
The NYPD did not respond to questions about the reason for the crackdown, or where the seized pedicabs were being held.
To legally operate a pedicab, drivers must obtain a special license from the city that they’re required to renew annually. The pedicab they use must also have a registration tag at the front, but under the law the city can only issue up to 850 of the tags at once.
Pedicab operators must comply with various regulations, including those that forbid motorized pedicabs, which were left out when the city legalized e-bikes several years ago.
Donmez said he hopes the enforcement push will lead to fewer customers being overcharged by unlicensed pedicab drivers, but added that he believes scammers should be targeted rather than drivers who use pedicabs with motors.
Jeyhun Hasamond said one of the nine pedicabs he owns was seized Wednesday and that he hopes to get back the pedal-assist vehicle soon. Motorized pedicabs such as his should be legalized the way e-bikes were for delivery drivers, he said.
“Even the customers, when they see I don’t have the motor, they don’t want to use it, kind of like they feel bad you are pedaling,” Hasamond noted.
Sarper Kadioglu said he has worked in the industry for 15 years and rents out three pedicabs, including a motorized one that was confiscated Wednesday and generates thousands of dollars in revenue.
He said he supports the seizure of unpermitted pedicabs but believes peddle-assist versions should be spared, given the demand for rides and the toll long periods of pedaling can have on drivers.
“It’s ridiculous … without [a] motor, nobody can do this business, we cannot pedal, we’re all human beings,” Kadioglu said. “I tried to pedal for six years and I had surgery for my left knee.”
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