Electric carriage the way to go

A horse-drawn carriage rolls through Central Park in New York, where the industry has existed for more than 150 years in this 2022 file photo. The Belgium capital of Brussels’ last horse-drawn carriage operator says business is good since he made the switch from horses to electric powered carriages that are designed to look like an early electric vehicle from the 1800s. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

IT started a number of years ago with angry remarks from tourists every now and again. But in recent years, the comments flew all the time, with people shouting, “Shame!” at Thibault Danthine, a horse-drawn carriage operator in Brussels, as they walked by.

“Ten years ago, that never happened,” said Danthine, a self-described horse lover. “At the end, it was every day.”