Taxi Driver Online

March 19, 2008 Wednesday

Support for pedicabs, but final decision deferred

York Press

COUNCILLORS could be set to release the brakes on pedicabs in York.

Several operators have applied to City of York Council for the green light to run pedal-powered rickshaws, mainly for tourists so they can see the sights.

Councillors meeting this week neither backed nor dismissed the idea, but instead deferred a decision to a later date.

A report to the licensing and regulatory committee said pedicab operators wanted to provide a safe and environmentally-friendly mode of transport and support the city's tourist infrastructure.

Licensing manager John Lacy said licensing would help support the council's efforts to increase the use of public and environmentally friendly transport.

He said York would benefit significantly from a successful pedicab service, using pedal-powered tricycles. "They would be an undoubted asset for the city and an additional attraction to the four million visitors to the city."

However, he said several obstacles would have to be overcome, including the potential slowing down of other vehicles on the roads, the safety of passengers and drivers and insufficient taxi rank provision.

He also warned of the chance that if some operators were licensed, the city could be inundated with other applications, leading to the congestion seen at the Covent Garden area of London where more than 200 pedicabs operated.

He said York Taxi Association backed the idea in principle,

but police had concerns about the traffic flow of slow moving pedicabs. The meeting was told it might be possible to create ranks in Tower Street and Duncombe Place.

Councillors were given three options: to approve pedicabs in principle, to reject the application or to defer consideration until it is known whether the council needs to review its overall hackney carriage policy.

Both the former options won some support from committee members. Coun Richard Moore said the council should look at the possibility of allowing pedicabs within the pedestrian zone, but this was "totally and utterly" opposed by Coun Ian Gillies. Eventually, the committee agreed to defer a decision.

Afterwards, pedicab operators Paul Styles, John Stainthorpe and Kevin Moore said they were pleased the application had not been thrown out.

They claimed while they had been working within the rules and would continue to do so, there were other operators in York who were offering a service without a licence or insurance.
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