By Amy Tsao

"NEW YORK WAY."  Sin City, with its throngs of tourists, bares more similarities to the Big Apple, but banning pedicabs won't likely be the "New York way," says Gretchen Dykstra, commissioner of New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs. "We don't want to go too far, but if there is a fatal accident with a pedicab, then there might be a cry to ban them all together," Dykstra says. For now, it's not clear when pedicabs will get their own set of rules, or what form they'll take. "We are still exploring the possibility of a regulatory scheme," Dykstra says.

Of course, regulations could also have the effect of keeping newer, and sometimes unscrupulous, operators from entering a very competitive market for transportation services. Competition has increased as the city's horse-and-carriage operators enter the trade, along with individuals who own only one or two pedicabs. "We want to keep renegades out," says Meitzler, referring to those who operate without insurance and flout traffic rules.

Bliss says he has trained 100 pedicab drivers over the years, but he adds that only 25 actually took to the roads. Besides customer rejection, drivers have to navigate New York traffic and brave noise, pollution, and bad weather. "It's the selling that's the real challenge," Bliss says.

ROLLING BILLBOARDS.  And training drivers doesn't mean they won't take that knowledge to work at a competitor. Bliss, who owns 12 pedicabs now, admits his cabs are older, so drivers he trains often defect to rivals with newer, spiffier vehicles that are easier to drive.

Meitzler, who worked with Bliss previously, has been running his business since 1995, but still hasn't made a profit. "The business doesn't start to turn unless I have advertising" on the pedicabs," says Meitzler, a legal assistant by day. "I couldn't live off of pedicabs," he says. Still, with some additional ad revenue he's hopeful that 2005 will be his first profitable year.

Regulatory changes or not, Bliss and Meitzler anticipate new opportunities down the road. Both are trying to find new advertisers. Altoids paid about $700 per month to advertise on each of Bliss' pedicabs. Meitzler says he has gotten interest from Broadway shows and winemakers. Target (TGT ) and Unilever (UN ), maker of Axe body spray, placed ads last year. Meitzler helps operators in other cities start their own pedicab businesses.

HERE, THERE, ALL OVER.  Bliss is "strategizing around historic tours," planning to charge $50 for a 50-minute guided pedicab ride. He also aims to expand geographically beyond Times Square and Midtown -- to Harlem, Coney Island, Flushing, Queens, and downtown Manhattan. Eventually, he hopes to develop electric pedicabs.

They won't be overrunning taxicabs any time soon, but in a decade's time, Bliss predicts there could many more pedicabs in New York -- up to 1,000. "The city can absorb it, and it's not an inconvenience to other industries," he says. For the time being, though, the pedicab business will have its share of bumps in the road.

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