Phoenix Pedicab Ordinance

Phoenix city council quietly (well hey, I never heard about it, but it was in the paper) passed a rather sweeping pedicab ordinance in July 2008. The regulations went into effect August 1, 2008.

Somewhat interestingly, they are filed under Chapter 23 “Morals and Conduct”, and they got a whole new Article, XXIII, and are quite lengthy, obviously pulled from some sort of model code.

The violation being criminal (misdemeanor class 1) is really absurd. That is the most serious class (assuming the class numbering works the same as state law?) — for comparison, if you run a red light and kill someone it’s a class 3 misdemeanor! (ARS 28-672)

Taxicabs and Limousines are also regulated by the city, see Chapter36 Article XIV. The criminal penalty is also a misdemeanor — but the regs all revolve around the duty to display and charge the fare properly. There isn’t anything about having to keep the taxi clean or any such nonsense.
Happily, Phoenix subscribes to Municode.com where we can look up the entire article in a jiffy. By the way, the rules for traffic including bicycles can be found at Chapter 36, Vehicles and Traffic.

There are some technically questionable things, such as the braking system must be “capable of skidding each wheel in contact with the ground…”. Really? Skidding the front wheel? Hmm.

Some of the operational restrictions are anti-VC (Vehicular Cycling) — such as prohibiting their operation on streets with speed limit of 35mph or greater.

The most onerous restrictions come in the conditions section: “It is unlawful for any person to operate a pedicab that has… Exposed rust… Ripped upholstery or fabric…Visible chips or scratches on any painted surface…Exposed wood that is not painted and in good condition… Dirt or debris on any surface accessible to patrons” A year in jail because your pedicab has dust on the seat, or a scratch? Seems a bit much.