Tunney Seeking Stricter Rules for Chicago’s Pedicab Industry

Whether you call them pedicabs or rickshaws, peddlers in Chicago may soon face a list of new regulations, thanks to an ordinance introduced to City Council by Ald. Tom Tunney (44th).

Attempts to regulate the growing industry have failed twice in the past, with the biggest point of contention being a rule that prohibits pedicabs from operating in the Loop during rush hour, WBEZ writes. Some saw the two-person tricycles as an answer to downtown gridlock. But with Tunney’s newly proposed ordinance leaving that issue off the table, it may have a chance.

“This ordinance is long overdue,” Tunney said in a statement. “Pedicabs have been operating in the city for years as an unregulated and unlicensed business. While pedicabs are a unique and green transpiration option for residents and visitors to our city, they are also the only business activity not licensed under city code.”

Things like adding a standardized way to charge passengers is one rule Tunney says he wants to add, hopefully legitimizing the industry. WBEZ found that “drivers” currently charge customers based on weather, terrain, weight of the passengers and even how much they personally liked the riders. In New York City, passengers are charged by the minute. Tunney wants peddlers, most commonly found around

Wrigley Field, to abide by the following rules:

• Licenses must be obtained to operate a pedicab business
• Owners are required to have liability insurance to qualify for a license
• Each pedicab used in a pedicab business has to have a registration decal and meet safety standards
• Owners are required to post a fare schedule