SAN DIEGO — A proposed ordinance to silence loud music and other complaints involving pedicabs passed the City of San Diego's Transportation Committee by a unanimous vote on Wednesday.
The ordinance will go to the full city council for final approval in September.
Ben is a San Diego pedicab driver and he says when he’s away from Harbor Drive, he turns on music for his customers to enjoy the ride.
“There was a reggae concert just this last weekend. So you play some reggae. People hop on your bike if you’ve got the right song playing. Driving through India and Little Italy. I’m trying to show people a good time. This is more about entertainment than just getting from point A to point B,” Ben said.
But it’s not entertaining to many residents and businesses around Downtown.
One Gaslamp resident said, “They’re insanely noisy. Very very loud. Hurts the ears. From 6 p.m. all the way until midnight. Loud.”
City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn proposed the ordinance to ban loud music on pedicabs.
“People are completely done with pedi cabs blasting loud music at 3 o'clock in the morning and we're going to put an end to it," Whitburn said.
There’s a vague rule from the Port of San Diego about music along the Bayfront. But local residents and businesses said many drivers do not follow the rules. Whitburn wants the law clarified.
“Going forward there can be no music coming from pedi cabs at all," Whitburn said.
Another change that will happen if the full city council approves this ordinance: Customers will get an invoice for their ride before it starts.
Whitburn says they want to do away with price gouging.
“One of the biggest complaints we get- you get a group of people who get on a pedi cab and they're given a certain price and then they’re told- oh that was per person. Under the new ordinance, pedi cab operators will give riders an invoice in advance that spells out the charges so that there's no questions at the end of the ride about how much that fare was," he said.
Ben already lists his prices on his pedi cab. He’s frustrated that some drivers are giving pedi cabs a bad wrap.
“One bad apple in the bunch make all the other apples go bad," Ben said.
If approved by the full council in September, it could be implemented by January 2025.
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