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Pedicab Drivers Seek Eased Restrictions


Where and when Austin pedicab drivers can operate may change next year.


Urban Transportation Commission member Carl Tepper told KXAN Austin News that they’re looking at lifting some of the restrictions the drivers face.


Current regulation states they can operate from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m., but not during morning and evening rush hours or from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.


Pedicabs also are restricted from going east of Interstate 35, west of MoPac, south of Oltorf Street and north of Dean Keeton Street because of safety concerns.


Drivers said the restrictions limit their business opportunities, leading one commissioner to recommend lifting all the restrictions while another proposes treating pedicab operators like taxi drivers.


Commissioners, however, are waiting for staff recommendations on exactly which roadways they can and can’t drive.


“Safety is a concern, and we can’t have pedicabs on every street of Austin,” said Tepper, “but we are going to be looking at some boundaries to keep the cabs off of, but in the meantime, it looks like they just want to operate in some parts of the city, and we’re going to allow them to operate mostly downtown and operate through lunch and into the morning, into the evening.”


The commission will pass its recommendations to city council sometime in January, which will decide if the regulations should stay or be lifted.