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NYC Council to Vote Horse-Drawn Carriage Ban

By Drooid · Oct 21, 2026, 3:19 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

New York City Council will vote this week to ban horse-drawn carriages, effective June 1 2028.
The proposal requires a city transition plan by April and compensation for carriage operators.
The legislation follows the June 17 2026 death of tourist Romanch Mahajan after a carriage accident.
The ban could leave hundreds of carriage owners, drivers, and stable workers unemployed.
Carriage licenses, limited to 68, can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

History

Historical Context

In 1908 the London County Council enacted the Horse-Drawn Carriage Act, confiscating 200 licences and allocating £150,000 to the RSPCA after a fifteen-person crash. That municipal ban forced a shift to motor taxis, a transition echoed by the New York City Council’s 2028 carriage prohibition, which aims to avert accidents such as the 2026 death of Romanch Mahajan.

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Story summary

New York City Council will vote this week to ban horse-drawn carriages, effective June 1 2028.
The proposal requires a city transition plan by April and compensation for carriage operators.
The legislation follows the June 17 2026 death of tourist Romanch Mahajan after a carriage accident.
The ban could leave hundreds of carriage owners, drivers, and stable workers unemployed.
Carriage licenses, limited to 68, can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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