London’s pedicabs face ban on loud music and rip-off fares in new TfL rules
For the first time, London’s “wild west” pedicab market will be subject to regulations to control drivers’ behaviour on the streets and passenger prices.
Transport for London (TfL) was granted legal powers to regulate the pedicabs last year, and after working on proposals, has now opened them up for public consultation.
If implemented, pedicab drivers would be required to have a one-year licence and meet safety standards such as criminal background checks. They would also need insurance and undergo regular “MOTs” for their vehicles.
TfL also plans to regulate the fares set by pedicabs to avoid problems with excessive fares being charged to unsuspecting passengers. TfL suggests that it could consider fares being set using a time-based, distance-based, or zonal structure.
There could also be restrictions on the use of loud music in pedicabs.
TfL says that regulations and licensing requirements for pedicabs would be similar to those that apply to taxis and private hire vehicles (PHV), but tailored to the unique nature of the pedicab and the market they operate in.
The law change requires public consultation before the changes are implemented. The consultation will then allow any unexpected tweaks to be added before the new regulations are laid before Parliament via a Statutory Instrument as envisaged by the Act.
The consultation is open until 7th March and can be read here.
(Remember, social media comments etc won’t be read, so if you want TfL to consider your thoughts, you need to complete the consultation form)
Will Norman, the Walking and Cycling Commissioner said: “Pedicabs should be a fun and sustainable way for people to see London but, without regulation, some drivers are behaving unsafely or antisocially, and charging extortionate prices. I’m pleased that TfL are launching this consultation on how to regulate the pedicab industry, ensuring the safety of customers, pedestrians and other road users.”
Once the new regulations come into effect, TfL will have the power to issue fines of up to £2,500 to pedicab operators who break them and even seize their pedicabs if necessary.
A fine of £2,500 isn’t much when they’re charging £300 per trip in some cases. And as it’s mostly tourists they’re ripping off, they won’t know the rules and they can be reported because they don’t do it now. They need to be banned outright
A complete ban would be more appropriate. They block pavements, intersections, roads, defy traffic signals, run red lights, drive on wrong side of road, go up on pavements. How many of these drivers are the 1 in 12 illegals driving them. Just like the uber eat, dekiveroo licensing them and checking in drivers will make no difference they will just pass the license to use to somebody else who again should not be driving them. They are a scurge to our city. Ban them.
I agree ..; they are a royal pain in the ….
Anyway, “pedicabs” are a sure sign of a 3rd-World country
They’re ‘solving’ a problem that doesn’t exist and generating negative externalities in the process. Licensing isn’t going to do anything substantial as the riders are not comparable to a black cab or minicab driver. Even if they didn’t rip off tourists road and pavement space is far too constrained to allow another type of transport to operate anyway.
I think it would be good if the max fine would be the highest of either £2500 or 10x what they have charged a customer (to make overcharging not worth the risk).
Also what does a criminal background check actually mean? I.E. what would count as something prohibiting someone from this work in particular? I assume that it’s more than getting a parking ticket and less than committing war crimes 🙂
A paltry scope with token fines that’s at least 10 years overdue.
The fact that these things have operated in a regulatory loophole for so long epitomises the abject failure of British political governance. They should have simply been classed as PHVs pending any alternatively nuanced legislation.
It speaks volumes that the government were rapidly able to amend the GLA act 1999 for the purposes of removing preferential voting to try to gerrymander results in their favour, but didn’t care to take the simple step of closing the rickshaw loophole.
A complete ban on playing music ought to be possible. If the passengers want to listen to music, they can be provided headphones without causing totally unnecessary inconvenience to the public.
Next, they’re essentially equivalent to private hire vehicles, so they should be prebooked only, with the fares tightly regulated, and prepaid only. Plainclothes inspectors should try to board without a booking and if they succeed, the driver is immediately under arrest, the pedicab confiscated and destroyed.
Looks like you’ve flushed out a lot of moaners and even one or two racists in the comment column with this one Ian.
Long overdue. What took so long? Oh, silly me, it used to be a Tory council didn’t it! Regulation? We don’t want any of that socialist nonsense.
I think you need to read the article before you comment about what you incorrectly thought it said.
On par with the American candy stores in my opinion. Not sure why they were ever allowed. They’re dangerous, loud and tacky! Not to mention the gangs that run them and the money laundering that’s going on.
There’s a TFL survey below you can fill out. Hopefully if enough people oppose they will just outright ban them!
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/pedicab-regulations