Epstein questions DCWP on pedicab license lottery process

Thank you, Councilmember Shulman.

I'm going to come back to me for a few minutes, if that's okay.

So you mentioned the lottery.

How often do you do a lottery for pedicab licensing?

It's an annual lottery, Chair.

And if someone wants to apply outside the lottery, can they do that?

My understanding is you can apply for the license and then the lottery throughout the year.

And then when you want to get the vehicle plates, you go through the lottery.

Okay, so today I leave here.

I'm like, you know, I really want to be a pedicab driver.

And so I can go fill out a form now, and that'll be valid until you decide if I'm eligible?

For the driver license, you can apply for that.

There's no cap on driver license, and you can become a driver.

For pedicab businesses, you apply for the pedicab business license, and once you receive that license, you can submit for the lottery, even though the lottery happens once a year, to get a registered vehicle with the city.

And so the registered vehicle, that's how I can get it on the streets.

Yeah.

And when does that lottery happen?

It's in the springtime.

It's in April.

And so the pedicab businesses can only operate a registered vehicle.

And the only person who's allowed to be behind the handlebars of that vehicle is a pedicab driver.

So...

You're saying if I want to get a new, I decide I have a career change and I want to get a vehicle, I have to wait until the springtime.

to do that.

But in the springtime, since you have over 800 available, but only 300 issued, who gets turned down then from those applications?

I think it's a mixture of folks who might submit for the lottery, but then when they get awarded, they don't pick up the plate for whatever reason.

And also people just not the full applicants to the lottery are not equal to the amount of registration plates available.

How many applied last year for the lottery?