Bloomberg Says He’ll Veto Pedicab Bill

Speaking on his weekly radio show on WABC, Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced he would veto the City Council’s legislation capping the number of pedicabs in the city at 325:

However, the mayor also said he may be amenable
to a revised version that simply raised the cap on the vehicles, known
as pedicabs. He suggested 500 as a limit.

Bloomberg
had supported the pedicab regulation measure as it moved through the
City Council. But during a bill signing ceremony on March 14, he
postponed his decision after hearing arguments from a group of pedicab
drivers who said the proposal would cost them their jobs.

“Let the free marketplace decide,” Bloomberg said Friday during his weekly radio show on WABC.

Stu
Loeser, a spokesman for the mayor, said that Bloomberg did favor the
bill’s measures that called for basic safety and insurance regulations
for pedicabs.

The mayor acknowledged it’s
likely the City Council could override the veto, but urged citizens to
lobby for a cap removal or one that’s higher.