ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A city workshop set for Friday morning will take a closer look at proposed regulations that could reshape how pedicabs and other vehicles for hire operate in St. Augustine.
The changes would include caps on the number of vehicles allowed to operate, new driver qualifications, background checks and updated rules around carriage horses — along with stronger enforcement and stiffer penalties for violations.
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Rob Harlan runs a local pedicab business that cycles residents and visitors through the city’s historic streets.
“We give tours, like I mentioned, light tours during Nights of Lights and then historic tours and around the city during the rest of the year,” Harlan said.
Harlan said pedicabs have carved out a meaningful role in how people experience St. Augustine.
“I think that the industry has really got a niche in St. Augustine. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the city to have what we call last mile transportation,” he said.
The workshop, set to be livestreamed Friday at 9 a.m., is designed to review a series of proposed changes aimed at improving oversight, safety and management of transportation.
Below is what the city has listed on its website:
The City of St. Augustine City Commission will hold a workshop on Friday, May 8, at 9:00am in the Alcazar Room of City Hall, located at 75 King Street, to discuss proposed updates to ordinances regulating Vehicles for Hire and Franchises.
The purpose of the workshop is to review a series of proposed changes aimed at improving oversight, safety, and management of transportation and tour services operating within the city. Proposed updates include caps on the number of Vehicles for Hire, including pedicabs, as well as the introduction of a tiered structure and overall cap for Franchises that provide tours.
Additional proposed changes address horse carriage operations, with a focus on the health and welfare of the animals, along with enhanced enforcement measures, more stringent penalties for violations, and updated driver qualification requirements, including background checks.
The workshop will provide an opportunity for City Commissioners to review these proposals in detail and discuss potential impacts on residents, businesses, and visitors.
Harlan said he personally supports the concept of regulation, but acknowledged the details will be the hard part.
“I mean, I personally, I agree with it. I really do that here. Again, I think it’s the number that’s going to be difficult at saying where to cut it off and how to legally say, okay, we’re just going to have 10 caps or 10, 10 companies might be the case,” he said.
Harlan says the industry has become more saturated in recent years, most notably Nights of Lights.
“It was a little heavy,” Harlan said.
Not everyone in the industry is on board — at least not entirely. Pineapple Ride and Tour, one of the businesses affected by the potential changes, said it supports responsible oversight but believes the proposed fleet reductions are not supported by data.
“Pineapple Ride and Tour, and businesses like ours, are the future of touring and transportation mobility in downtown Saint Augustine,” the company said in a statement. “We are working with the city to overhaul the ordinances in a way that is both beneficial to the public and fair for hard working locals who own and operate compliant, unique, small businesses.”
The company pointed to its safety record and environmental footprint as evidence it should not face cuts.
“Currently the city is trying to reduce our fleet numbers in the name of safety and congestion, yet all the available data suggests we are not the issue.”
Pineapple Ride and Tour said it plans to present data at upcoming meetings.
The workshop will be livestreamed Friday at 9 a.m. Proposed changes also include tighter rules to protect carriage horses, stronger enforcement, stiffer penalties and updated driver qualifications including background checks.