brick?

­PHC
magazine
which would allow TfL to regulate the estimated 1,500
rickshaws currently plying for hire on the streets of
London.
The letter, signed by hundreds of businesses in the
West End, said: “We have come together to ask the
Government to think again about its planned timescale
to address the issue of unregulated pedicabs / rickshaws
operating throughout London.
“We firmly believe that pedicabs harm London’s international
reputation and need to be regulated without
delay as unregulated rickshaws directly affect businesses
in Central London and are a growing problem.”
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
In a letter to the Regulate Pedicabs Coalition, transport
minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said his department
was “working on” bringing in legislation in the
next year”.
But business leaders, who include groups such as
the Leicester Square Association, the Heart of London
Business Alliance and the London Chinatown Chinese
Association say this timetable is too long.
Owner of the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester
Square Simon Thomas, said: “It is only a matter of
time before someone is killed by being thrown out of a
rickshaw into the path of something heavier.”
Westminster City Council’s member for city
management Melvyn Caplan agreed and
said: “Unscrupulous pedicab drivers are turning
the West End into a modern Wild West,
with rip-off prices and unsafe vehicles.”
RICKSHAW TRADE POSITION
A spokesman for the London Pedicab Operators
Association (LPOA) said: “The LPOA has,
for over a decade, been lobbying parliament,
TfL and Westminster Council, in order to
achieve a fair and appropriate licensing
regime for pedicabs in London.
“We have developed codes of conduct and
practice for both operators and riders, together
with software, to provide accountability
for responsible operators in London.
“This would provide full details about each
rider, pedicab and operator subscribing to the
scheme in the capital to facilitate appropriate
enforcement. But, so far, the hackney carriage
industry has frustrated each and every
attempt to resolve any issues, through the use
of political pressure.”
November 2016 | 15