When to take a pedicab

“I’ll get you anywhere in midtown in under ten minutes, or I’ll pay you,” says Gregg Zukowski, driver and owner of pedicab company Revolution Rickshaws. “For example, Grand Central to Penn Station takes me seven minutes.” What if there’s gridlock? “Then it might take eight,” he brags. Zukowski is trying to explain why any real New Yorker would want to ride in something that looks like it’s made for newlywed out-of-towners. There are 500-odd pedicabs in the city (though if an impending law gets passed, the number will be limited to 325), found mostly around midtown near Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and the Theater District before and after showtime. The price, which you can negotiate before hopping in, normally hovers around $1 per block.

“It’s ‘transportainment,’” says New York Pedicab Association president Peter Meitzler. “It’s cheaper than a limo but just as much personal attention. I like to think of it as a pedal-powered limo service.”

Still, it’s not exactly a bargain next to your unlimited MetroCard and you might have to brave bad weather. But if you’ve already paid for Young Frankenstein tix and are running late, go for it. Just don’t breathe too deeply—think about all those fumes pedi passengers must inhale as they zip around idling cars. “I know, I know,” sighs Zukowski. “It’s a bitch. I’m trying to get those automobiles banned.”

—Kate Lowenstein