Some Things Not to Do in NYC - from Frommer's travel guide 2009
Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides: Pity those poor beasts of burden. They get dragged out in the heat (though not extreme heat) and cold (though not extreme cold) with a buggy attached just to give passengers the feel of an old-world, romantic buggy ride through Central Park. But the horses look so forlorn, as if it's the last thing they want to do. And they don't even get a cut of the generous take: $40 for a 20-minute ride, $60 for 45 minutes, excluding tip. If you want a slow, leisurely ride through Central Park, minus the ripe and frequent smell of horse poop, consider an alternative called Manhattan Rickshaw Company (tel. 212/604-4729; www.manhattanrickshaw.com). The beast of burden has two legs, and pedals you and a companion in the back of a pedicab, where the rate is negotiable but is usually about $1 per minute with a $15 minimum.
Even Frommer gets the rate wrong. It is $34 for 1/2 hour with $10 for each additional 15 minutes. This is true whether you make reservations on line or take a carriage ride on the street.
If you are overcharged, call 311 while in New York City. Read the previous blog about how the carriage industry overcharges. Yikes!
visit Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
1 comment:
Taking a pedicab (rikshaw) through Central Park is not only the humane choice for all involved, but it is also a ~far~ superior way to get a tour of Central Park, and a much better value for your money than the cruel, overpriced carriage-horse rides, which are extremely limited to where they can travel in the park. The pedicabs have far more access into the most beautiful, romantic parts of the park.
Walking through the park hand-in-hand with your loved one is my personal favorite, but riding in a pedicab is definitely a close second! Once you learn of the unbelievable cruelty & danger that the horses (and passengers) are exposed to, you simply cannot justify funding such animal abuse & exploitation.
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