Epstein asks why most pedicab operators remain unlicensed

And so why do you think the vast majority of people, three-quarters of the people who are operating in this industry, aren't even bothering to apply for a license either for themselves or for their vehicle then?

I think over the past few years, noncompliance has been particularly centered around unlicensed activity.

I think when you have unlicensed activity and you're a licensed actor, the incentives are off.

And that's why I think we need to focus our force and education efforts back onto this industry as a city overall.

So you're saying people are making a cost-benefit analysis.

They're saying the cost of applying for a license versus the risk of not applying for the license.

Three-quarters of people are not applying because in that risk analysis they're making, they're thinking it's more beneficial not to apply for the license because we'll have less oversight.

You know, I think that could be part of it.

But also, you know what I'd be really interested to hear on this question, too, is the compliant actors right now.

I think they could really speak to us about why they're seeing in their industry unlicensed activity.

I think there's an aspect of, I think it's always, it's inherently unfair for one business to be trying to comply as much as possible and other ones are not.

And we, as an enforcement mechanism, we want to ensure, generally as an administration, that the folks who are following the rules are rewarded, so to speak.

We touched upon earlier insurance as well.

My understanding from speaking to workers and businesses is that insurance costs are going up too.

I don't know if that's tied into the unlicensed activity as well.

I think that's something to investigate further.