Taxi Driver Online

Oxford Mail

April 4, 2007

Regulations could hinder rickshaw venture

A plan by the grandson of Robert Maxwell to use rickshaws as taxis in Oxford may struggle to get in gear.

Oxford City Council is to hold an inquiry into the feasibility of licensing rickshaws, but officials said there were problems - including a cap on the number of taxis in the city.

However, city council licensing chiefs have asked the authority's high-level environment scrutiny committee to examine the case for allowing pedal taxis to take fare-paying customers, a potentially lucrative business.

Oxford University undergraduate Ted Maxwell, 20, has already paid £10,000 to import five rickshaws from Colorado. The two-seater machines are already popular in London's West End.

But he cannot tout for business in the street as he does not have a hackney carriage licence.

Taxi licensing officer Phil Pirouet said: "Rickshaws fall very far short of the present safety and constructional requirements for hackney carriages in Oxford. But even if a rickshaw could meet the criteria, the council would not be in a position to licence a rickshaw at present due to the limit on hackney carriage licences.

"There are considerable obstacles to be overcome if rickshaws are to be licensed in Oxford."

Rickshaws in Oxford are nothing new, as 11 years ago, entrepreneur Erica Steinhauer ran a short-lived rickshaw business before it hit financial problems.

But Mr Maxwell said: "In principle councillors would like to see rickshaws in Oxford, but we can't ply for hire on the streets.

"We can respond to telephone bookings, tours and deliveries, but we can't do what I would like to be doing.

"I am expecting the tourist season to see us through and I hope it's a matter of time rather than if' we get the licence."
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I wonder why the council official doesn't mention that the latter obstacle could be overcome with the thick end of half a million quid?

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Can someone remind me under what license/act?

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IDFIMH

i think i have stated somewhere before that these are the nephews of bob maxwell - need i say more?

thiers no way they should get hack plates, the alternative is the "de reg" word, then we might be flooded with rickshaws

I would love to see you in a rickshaw 187ums poetic justice perhaps

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

next to come will be the old horse drawn hackney.
eco freindly, just 2 ton of horse sh** a year to deal with.

hey deregulate the rickshaws - so in the future anyone ca have one, only thing is i would like to see one of them going up headington hill

p.s.unlike u my old jockey i am not an old timer

It'Obvious Sussex, they are all Limo's

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you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Where i am there are three pedicycleswho can and are licenced to carry three people.They have a red hack plate nos 1to3 and ply for hire anywhere they want.Mind you i think i,d rather be in a horse drawn cart than having some sweaty geezer farting and sweating in front of me Having said that would it be possible for the owners of these rickshaw things to transfer their licence onto a motor vehicle at a later date