The City Council yesterday took a measured half-step toward protecting tourists from price-gouging by pedicab drivers; what a pity that the council didn't ban the kamikaze karts altogether.
Little steps for little feet, we guess.
The depredations of the pedicab pirates are well-known.
For example, The Post first reported in August on the travails of the Rodriguez family, tourists from Texas who got a lesson on how things aren't always the way they seem in New York.
After initially telling the family that a short trip would be just $1 a block, the driver produced a "rate card" with nearly unreadable small print. No one saw the "$100 per person" minimum. With fees, the bill ended up being $442 for a 12-minute ride.
Michael Hicks
A pack of pedicabs in Times Sqaure
And the driver demanded a tip, too.
The Rodriguezes should have just called a cop, of course. But they really shouldn't have had to. No tourist should.
Under new legislation, pedicabs will have to carry timers and list rates in clear type on their cabs.
Which is fine — as far as it goes. But the basic problem is the pedicab itself.
They are dangerous to pedestrians, to automobiles and to themselves. (Just like bicycles, but that's a topic for another day.)
Eighteen months ago, the council capped the permissible number of pedicabs at 850.
Alas, the streets are scarcely safer, because pedicabs travel in schools, like piranha — and are equally predatory.
The council needs to go further.
Fraud is bad, but ultimately, this is a safety issue.
Pedicabs must go. Simple as that.
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