The City Council passed legislation Wednesday that would increase rates for horse-drawn carriages and allow the horses a five-week vacation and two yearly examinations from a veterinarian.

The bill, which passed by a 43-4 vote with one abstention, raises rates to $50 for the first 20 minutes – up from the current $34. Any additional time will cost $20 for every 10 minutes, up from $10 for 15 minutes. It is the first rate hike for the horse carriage industry in 23 years.

The bill also includes automatic cost-of-living increases every three years going forward.

"For more than 20 years, these carriage horse drivers have not received a raise. Now that wouldn’t be acceptable in any industry, and theirs shouldn’t be any different," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Under the bill, the city's 202 carriage horses will receive five weeks off each year, an extra yearly vet visit, larger stables and warm blankets.

Other new requirements include lights and reflective materials as well as an emergency brake system. Also, no carriage rides will be allowed from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., or anywhere below 34th Street in Manhattan.

Carriage owners say they welcome the bill, but some animal rights advocates say it does not go far enough.

"There is simply no way to make the industry in New York City healthy and humane for horses,” said Edita Birnkrant of the group NY Friends of Animals. “It just simply can't be done."

“This is a model example of what a carriage industry should be,” said Steve Malone of the Horse and Carriage Association. “We're being proactive. We're not being told we have to do something. This is something we're doing on our own.”

Critics have backed legislation to ban the industry outright, but failed to get support.

The bill now heads to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is expected to sign it into law.