Are you a fan of food trucks? If so, make sure to check out the Institute of Justice’s new report on how complex city regulations limit street vendors and food trucks, making it difficult to start up one of these mobile business. The report examines five types of vending regulations in the 50 largest cities in the United States. All but five major cities have at least one of these types of regulations, while 31 have two or more:
– Eleven of these cities ban vending on public property for some or all goods, limiting the places where vendors can sell and forcing them to partner with private property owners to operate-or to vend anyway and face fines or worse.
– In 33 large cities, entire areas are off-limits to vendors, often including potentially lucrative areas such as downtown commercial districts or streets around sporting venues.
– Twenty major cities ban vendors from setting up near brick-and-mortar businesses selling the same or similar goods.
– Five of the 50 largest cities prevent mobile vendors from stopping and parking unless flagged by a customer, making it difficult for vendors to establish regular stops or easily connect with buyers.
– In 19 large cities, mobile vendors may stay in one spot for only small amounts of time, forcing vendors to spend much of their time moving instead of selling.
