IT'S 'PEDI'-MONIUM OUT THERE

">LAWLESS BIKE-CABS SPARKING STRIFE IN THE STREETS
But the city expects to bring some order to the industry by the new year.

As things stand now:

* Anyone can buy a pedicab for $5,000 or rent one for $200 a week and go into business.

* The operator does not need a driver's license. There isn't even an age limit.

* They can charge anything the traffic will bear.

* Pedal pushers do not need any insurance - and a luckless passenger involved in a crash could be left out in the cold.

Two bills to rein in the drivers have been submitted - one by Mayor Bloomberg and one by the council. The last of three hearings will be held in December, and officials hope a new law will be on the books by early next year.

Meanwhile, independent operators and owners of pedicab fleets continue to trash each other - while licensed cabs complain pedicabs are stealing their business.

Independent pedicab drivers accuse fleet owners of importing foreign pedalers - who flout traffic rules and give pedicabs a bad name. "It's like the Wild West out there. It's completely out of control," said Jordan Kinzler, who's been pedaling for two years.

Gregg Zukowsi, of the New York City Pedicab Owners Association, agreed that there is "sort of a summer surge of drivers from all over the world."

He agreed that some regulation is needed.ont-weight:bold;