Pedicab drivers in New York City have allegedly been terrorizing customers, whether they be tourists or locals, along with operating illegally, in considerably higher numbers this year.
Numerous sources have alleged instances of harassment that have occurred in the carriages, including drivers getting physical with customers; pressuring them, especially tourists, into paying unreasonable prices; blasting loud music in the streets, and launching attacks on competitors.
“They’re like piranhas just trying to get paid, and they prey on the tourists and on the guests and on the kids,” Ralph Mendez, a doorman at the Sheraton Hotel on Seventh Avenue near Times Square, told The NY Post.
“They’re nice because they want something,” he added. “As soon, as you tell them you don’t want it, they just absolutely flip on you.”
Two Upper East Side women were reportedly coming back from a night out at a Midtown club when they encountered a pedicab driver who they allege badgered them into accepting a free ride home. Once they entered the pedicab, the women said the driver jumped into the backseat and groped them both, then kicked one of them out when they fought back, one of the women told The Post this week.
“It felt very much like he put himself in the right place at the right time to be a predator,” said one of the women, 22, who reported the Aug. 4 incident to cops. “It was really convenient for him to be in front of a club at 3:30 a.m., offering rides home to girls who have been drinking. I got the feeling that he habitually does that.”
According to NYPD data, there has been a surge of pedicab-related criminal summonses in 2024, with cops issuing 1,493 violations to drivers through June 30, which is a 51.5% spike from the 985 recorded through the same period in 2023.
Consumer complaints have also spiked along with the number of summonses, as there has been a 56.7% rise with 94 reports through August 12, compared to just 60 reports during the same period last year, according to 311 data.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection reported that the NYPD seized more than 100 illegal pedicabs this year, as many of the drivers lack the proper licenses and registrations required to operate their business. Last month, Shokhru Alimov, 41, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to bribing a police officer $7,500 to obtain two DCWP-issued licenses, a Pedicab Driver License and a Pedicab Business License. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 5, 2024.
