It’s still a pretty fare biz
Pedicab drivers upbeat despite bans in Midtown
New traffic restrictions put in place by Mayor de Blasio this holiday season can’t stop true New York hustlers from earning their cheddar.
Several pedicab drivers told the Daily News that a recent ban on cars and pedicabs across several streets near Rockefeller Center hasn’t thwarted their business.
Since the day after Thanksgiving, city regulators have eliminated two lanes of car traffic on Fifth Ave. between 48th and 52nd Sts. starting at 5 p.m. on weekdays and noon on weekends, giving freed-up space to pedestrians during Midtown’s tourist-heavy holiday season.
The areas between Fifth and Sixth Aves. on W. 49th and W. 50th Sts. have also been closed for the bulk of each day to accommodate the crowds.
Ece Abadan, 30, a pedicab driver with rock-hard quadriceps from pedaling more than 40 miles a day, six days a week, said the closures haven’t kept her from raking in holiday-season dough.
“I’m the Pedicab Queen,” said Abadan, who hails from Eskisehir, Turkey. “I work hard and I play hard.”
Abadan and other drivers said they can earn anywhere from $500 to $2,500 a week.
She said a recent ride from the Empire State Building to lower Manhattan lined her pocket with $500.
“I like the pedicab,” she proclaimed.
Riders can expect a fiveminute ride in a pedicab to run about $40. Many workers said they shell out about $250 a week to rent their bikes.
“It hasn’t hurt us,” Koca Carides gayan, 24, said of the restrictions around Rockefeller Center, despite waiting five hours in Midtown on Christmas Eve before he finally nabbed a fare.
Leagues of tourists on Tuesday who did not want to cram into Rockefeller Center to see the plaza’s iconic Christmas tree were happy to fork over big money to take in the hokey New York experience of riding 10 blocks in a pedicab.
“It’s an easy way to move around,” said pedicab passenger Angel Aquayo, 46, who was on a two-week vacation from Miami with his wife, Laura.
Several drivers said they’re constantly under pressure to coax passengers into their
in order to pay the rent on their bikes.
“If you don’t get a ride, you go crazy,” said Metin Oztan, 19, who recently quit the business.
Allotting more street space to pedestrians around Rockefeller Center this holiday season was controversial.
After a city Department of Transportation official released the traffic plan in October, de Blasio said the announcement was premature and said “someone was trying to further their agenda.”
It was another three weeks before de Blasio green-lighted the plan. Mayoral spokeswoman Olivia Lapeyrolerie said city officials were simply trying to iron out any bumps.
“It’s our goal to strike a balance between keeping holiday revelers safe and minimizing disruption to local businesses,” said Lapeyrolerie. “That’s why we only expanded pedestrian space on two streets during limited hours.”
Even though the Rockefeller Center traffic restrictions have proven to have little impact on their bottom lines, pedicabbies said the city needs to do more to help them earn a living.
“I follow the rules, but the police don’t like us. The taxis don’t like us, and Uber don’t like us,” said Enes Keles, 25, between drags on a cigarette as he and a handful of drivers waited for customers in front of the American Girl store in Midtown. “On my best day, I made $400 a day. On a bad day, zero. I had 15 days at zero [this year].”