Number of pedicabs increaed rapidly in New York City
The pedicabs once popular in Southeast Asia has been introduced to Manhattan as a tourist attraction and in competition with horse-drawn carriages and taxicabs. Sewell Chan and Nicholas Confessore report, a group of environmentalists and artists in Manhattan, New York City, began pedaling them - and peddling rides on them - nine years ago. But in the past two years, the number of pedicabs has nearly doubled. Pedicab operators say the vehicles now number about 220.
Nearly all the pedicabs, which can carry two passengers, are operated in Midtown. The drivers typically charge $1 a minute, but a passenger carrying a few extra pounds and traveling a route with steep inclines can expect to pay considerably more. Carriages charge $34 for the first half hour and $10 for every 15 minutes thereafter. Taxicabs charge $2.50 upon entry and 40 cents for every one-fifth of a mile, or for every two minutes when they are stalled in traffic under six miles an hour. (Source: Sewell Chan and Nicholas Confessore, The New York Times, Jan. 2, 2005).