Out-of-control NYC pedicab drivers terrorize tourists, locals — and even sexually assault their own customers: ‘They’re like piranhas’
They’re hell on wheels.
Out-of-control pedicab drivers are terrorizing tourists and locals across Manhattan, commandeering stretches of city streets, haranguing passersby — and even sexually assaulting their own customers, The Post has learned.
Over the past few years, the drivers’ behavior has grown increasingly lawless — from blasting loud music and charging outrageous prices to brawling with customers and launching cartel-like attacks on competitors.
The outlaw antics are reflected in a surge in pedicab-related criminal summonses this year, with cops issuing 1,493 violations through June 30, a 51.5% spike from the 985 written during the same period in 2023, NYPD data shows.
Consumer complaints have similarly soared 56.7%, totaling 94 reports through Aug. 12, compared to just 60 reports logged during the same period in 2023, according to 311 data.
“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 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.”
A fun night out at Midtown club spiraled into a nightmare for two Upper East Side women who encountered one of those piranhas — who badgered them to accept a “free ride” home until they agreed.
As soon as they entered the pedicab, the driver jumped into the backseat and groped both women, and kicked them out of his ride when they fought back, one of the terrified victims 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 victims, a 22-year-old, 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.’”
She continued: “I felt like I got tricked, which is the worst feeling…I was shocked that it happened, but I feel like it was my fault because I was being dumb and naive.”
The incident is just one example of a troubling pattern of mayhem pedicabs are causing across the city, including:
- In May, a half-dozen pedicabbers surrounded a hansom-carriage driver after he asked one of them not to wash his bicycle in a fountain horses regularly drink from in Central Park, according to the coachman and NYPD. The hot-head allegedly decked the 51-year-old carriage driver, who gave only his first name, Yalcin.
- A pedicab driver traded blows with a trio of riders over their fare in June by the Empire State Building, according to a wild video of the incident.
- A foul-mouthed pedicabber was caught on camera near Central Park on Aug. 12 calling carriage horse driver Jill Adamski a “dirt b—h” and “Irish slut,” according to video. The brute is then seen raising his hand, threatening to smack another man who was recording the ugly altercation.
- A pedicab driver in Midtown randomly spat in a transgender woman’s face as men in the vehicle called her a “tranny” in May 2023, according to police sources. The 27-year-old was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment.
- The Glass House Tavern said pedicabbers engaged in a coordinated campaign to tank its business with a cluster of 1-star Google reviews after it posted a sign on West 47th Street warning nearby theatergoers about the exorbitant prices the drivers charged. “Recently, they have become more aggressive and have been verbally abusive to our staff,” the tavern noted at the time.
“They think this is like a third world country, the law doesn’t work over here, ‘We can do anything we want,’” Yalcin said. “They feel like big guys — big mafiosos over here.”
The drivers, who trick out their rides with gaudy decor such as string lights, plush animals and speakers blasting pop music, often target tourists looking to record their rides and post on social media.
The trips have become one of the city’s most expensive tourist traps, with pedicab hacks gouging unsuspecting customers with sky-high — albeit legal — fares, which are usually posted on tiny-type rate cards and have run in some cases as high as $25 a minute.
“If guests are staying here, I tell them, ‘Ask them the price’ before they get in.’ Then I get dirty looks from the drivers,” said Mendez, the Sheraton Hotel doorman, recalling one crestfallen guest who was shocked to learn a pedicab ride from 34th Street ran her $140.
At the Hilton Hotel near West 54th Street and 6th Avenue, a doorman estimated 15 pedicabs hang out in front his building on a daily basis, conducting annoying “music battles” with their booming speakers and haranguing pedestrians to purchase a ride.
“With the tourists and guests, they are constantly trying to get their attention,” the doorman said. “They’re yelling and doing their whole spiel and everything.”
On Wednesday The Post observed a dozen aggressive pedicab drivers yelling at families with children and following passersby in an effort to snag customers near Central Park South.
“C’mon ladies, you girls look like you can use a ride,” one whistled, waving a laminated page detailing the astronomical prices
“It’ll be fun,” another called out. “It’s cheap, take a ride.”
That same afternoon, a slew of pedicab drivers were spotted around Midtown repeatedly ignoring traffic lights, while others swerved into bike lines and even took their eyes off the road to snap selfies with riders.
“They don’t respect drivers or the traffic rules,” said livery driver Mario Chauch, 43, who had a side mirror smashed off by a pedicabber.
“They pull over all the time, they pull out in front of you.”
And there’s violence within their own ranks too.
The drivers — who predominantly hail from Central Asian nations such as Tajikistan and Uzebekistan — employ mob-like tactics to scare off competition, or anyone even suspected of encroaching on their turf.
“If they feel that you’re not allowed to work on their corner, they’re slashing your tires, they’re attacking people, they’re beating them up,” said a 53-year-old pedicabber, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“They’re running the corners like they own that corner,” he said.
The lawlessness has been accelerated by a post-pandemic explosion of counterfeit Department of Consumer and Worker Protection licenses and registration plates required to legally operate in the city, industry sources told The Post.
One fleet operator estimated that 60% of pedicab drivers, or roughly 1,500 hacks, are riding around with bogus licenses.
“If there is no liability, you’re going to act differently,” the 46-year-old fleet operator said, explaining authorities’ lax enforcement on the fraudulent paperwork has fueled the rogue behavior.
The DCWP oversees inspections of licensed pedicabs, and its spokeswoman Stephany Vasquez Sanchez, advised people to report any illicit activity, including harassment, to the NYPD.
In December, cops seized 77 illegal pedicabs in Midtown, weeks after Councilman Erik Bottcher (D-Manhattan) wrote a letter to the NYPD along with DCWP and the Department of Environmental Protection calling for stricter enforcement of pedicabs amid surging complaints.
“The impact of pedicabs, particularly in relation to Broadway theaters, residential neighborhoods, and tourist experiences, has prompted an immediate call for action to improve the oversight and regulation of these vehicles,” wrote the pol, whose district covers Midtown.
