Two Japanese tourists, Chisa Niwa and her husband Hiroki, were significantly overcharged by a pedicab driver in New York City, paying $720 for a 20-minute ride that should have cost about $50. The incident occurred on their first day in the city when they tried to travel from the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue to the Knickerbocker Bar and Grill. After being unable to secure a yellow cab, they opted for a pedicab. The driver, misleadingly pointing to a $5 line on his price board, later charged them an exorbitant fee upon arrival. Additionally, an attempt to charge another $616 was fortunately blocked by their credit card company. The Department of Consumer Affairs is now seeking legal action to identify the driver through Square, the smartphone credit-card reader used for the transaction. This event marred the tourists’ excitement for their trip, casting a negative shadow over their experience. New regulations that require pedicab drivers to clearly display rates and charge per minute are hoped to prevent such scams in the future.
For more information:
https://nypost.com/2013/07/19/fleeced-pedicab-driver-charges-japanese-tourists-720-for-20-min-trip/