Taxi Driver Online

I have a feeling that quite soon licensing laws are going to get a little tighter for Rickshaw owners and drivers.
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The Evening Standard (London)

October 22, 2007 Monday

Rickshaw rules

LONDON'S rickshaws are subject to none of the controls on licensed cabs; drivers do not even have to be insured. As we report today, the issue will be addressed when Parliament considers the Local Authorities and Transport for London Bill next month. This would mean councils could serve the riders fixed penalty notices for jumping red lights or driving in bus lanes. In addition, the High Court is considering whether to classify pedicabs as hackney carriages. These moves are welcome. If rickshaws behave like cabs, their owners should be subject to the same rules. Picturesque they may be; unfortunately they can also be dangerous.
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The Evening Standard (London)

October 22, 2007 Monday

Dangerous pedicabs to face driving fines;

NEW safety rules are to be brought in to govern the hundreds of pedicabs operating in central London.

Experts are concerned that the rapid growth of the bicycle rickshaws there are now about 600 is putting people at risk.

Even though they carry passengers, the pedicabs have the same legal status as bicycles. Drivers do not have to be licensed, or have insurance.

The rules are being proposed as part of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Bill, which will be presented in Parliament on 27 November. It would enable councils to serve fixed penalty notices for parking on yellow lines, jumping red lights or driving in bus lanes.

The move comes after a string of accidents involving pedicabs. In one, a passenger was thrown out and knocked unconscious. In another, a pedicab overturned after a collision with a bus. It also follows two weekends of action last month by police and Westminster council, which led to seven arrests and 43 warnings.

Westminster councillor Danny Chalkley said: "We have been lobbying the Government for some time for further powers to help us tackle rogue pedicab operators, but we do need more weapons... to deal with them before somebody is killed."

TfL's Public Carriage Office said a planned licensing scheme would become mandatory if the High Court declared pedicabs a type of hackney carriage.

Graeme Rivett, spokesman for London Pedicabs, said: "We welcome the new rules but we do need to have allocated parking space and ranks." Some drivers are against the plans.

One said: "It just feels like they are trying to choke us out of business.

Clubbers and tourists love us."

HAVE YOUR SAY AT www.standard.co.uk
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I wish they would hurry up as I believe they have a few 'stagecoaches' left in Sefton.

The PCO's view is they were outlawed in 1985.

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IDFIMH

If anyone has a spare hour to read this judgement it gives a good background to the pedicab issue in London.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2007/2987.html

If you however have got a life then this is an appeal to try and stop the PCO from re-classifying the bikes to taxis.

The PCO won this stage of the process and hopefully early in 2008 it will finally happen.

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IDFIMH

If this happens how or where do they fit the meter and top sign, as all taxis must have a fitted meter calibrated to there area and a top sign to let jo public know this, so how would the pco get around that part of the law

Won't the drivers also need to pass the knowlege?

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Grandad,

I think they will try and have a special version of London taxi driver license.

Cos if they didn't then that would be the end of the bikes.

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IDFIMH