London cycle taxi rickshaws.

[jon0844]

These people are scammers, not entrepreneurs. The fares aren't even near reasonable.

Sadly there are people who seem to think people are fair game if you can make profit. Donald Trump is perhaps the best example.

 

[deltic]

These people are scammers, not entrepreneurs. The fares aren't even near reasonable.

Is £100+ to travel on a gondola reasonable? How do you define reasonable, if people are prepared to pay what they charge then they must find it to be reasonable.

 

[Thirteen]

I admit, anyone who's not from London but live in the UK should know pedicabs are scams.

 

[jon81uk]

London Centric has a good article this week on the scams with pedicabs

London’s Pedicabs: Sex, loathing, and highway robbery

The inside story of how the capital's most chaotic and least understood form of transport actually works.

www.londoncentric.media

 

[styles]

London Centric has a good article this week on the scams with pedicabs

London’s Pedicabs: Sex, loathing, and highway robbery

The inside story of how the capital's most chaotic and least understood form of transport actually works.

www.londoncentric.media

That article is wild.

It starts off pretty fun:

Several road traffic offences were committed during our brief journey, but it was exhilarating — the equivalent of taking a rollercoaster ride at a decaying theme park where you’re not quite sure if a bolt will come loose at a crucial moment.

Commercial riders breaking road traffic law? Well I never. I hope this reporter does an expose on Uber Eats riders next.

It turns weird pretty sharpish though:

John, a longstanding driver from Turkey, accused his rivals of engaging in tax fraud and of delivering customers to brothels.

Brothels? Well yes. I don't always visit brothels, but when I do, I do it in a brightly lit flashing music-blaring pedicab with no tinted windows. We should of course remember that black cab drivers get kickbacks from strip clubs for taking punters there. If you're offended by your transport colleagues dropping people off at sex establishments, I'd be inclined to suggest that being a transport operator in a liberal country's capital city isn't really for you!

It makes a quick pivot to race:

Adam, whose British-Algerian family own a number of the bikes, accused other operators of skimping on safety measures which have seen pedicabs go up in flames, while also flooding the market with new drivers from Bangladesh. Tensions between riders of different ethnic backgrounds are rife, with accusations sometimes tipping over into outright racism.

The reporter can't be surprised by this unless they've never visited Tower Hamlets. Maybe the pedicabs don't go that far?

I suppose their naivity is proudly paraded though:

Almost all the drivers say they want Transport for London to regulate the industry — but mainly because they believe the main benefit would be regulating their rival drivers out of existence and boosting their own profits.

I mean really, how many pedicab riders could you count who are charging reasonable fares, in road-legal vehicles, with background checks, and who aren't scamming people by adding zeros on the card machines? I spent enough time working around Westminster to give an accurate estimate of this and I don't think any non-Londoner would be far off with their own guess!

Thankfully the anecdotes do end and the reporter describes the historical events which led to the current situation, which briefly are that a judge rules pedicabs are not hackney carriages but stage carriages, and therefore the hackney carriage legislation doesn't apply to them. And quite rightly highlights that TfL and the government have spent over 20 years sitting on this issue.

I used to cycle home through Westminster on an evening and these folks used to block pavements and cycle lanes and while I'm not against people having flashy pedicabs with music for a bit of fun, I resented really that my assumption that they were scamming people was usually correct. The sooner these regs get implemented and enforced, the better.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I mean really, how many pedicab riders could you count who are charging reasonable fares, in road-legal vehicles, with background checks, and who aren't scamming people by adding zeros on the card machines? I spent enough time working around Westminster to give an accurate estimate of this and I don't think any non-Londoner would be far off with their own guess!

Thankfully the anecdotes do end and the reporter describes the historical events which led to the current situation, which briefly are that a judge rules pedicabs are not hackney carriages but stage carriages, and therefore the hackney carriage legislation doesn't apply to them. And quite rightly highlights that TfL and the government have spent over 20 years sitting on this issue.

Given that London has a licensing scheme in place for stage carriages as well as taxis (we normally call them buses, and one needs a London Service Permit to operate one if not a TfL contractor) it is surprising this isn't already caught, but presumably it would be a small legislative fix to bring these vehicles into that too. I assume they escape from it by having no engine, or fewer than 10 seats including the driver? Does anyone know which?

I seem to recall that a trial operation of engined tuk tuks in Brighton ended up having to actually operate as a registered local bus service to be allowed to operate, so I wonder why (if they call themselves stage carriages i.e. buses) it doesn't pick them up?

 

[styles]

Given that London has a licensing scheme in place for stage carriages as well as taxis (we normally call them buses, and one needs a London Service Permit to operate one if not a TfL contractor) it is surprising this isn't already caught, but presumably it would be a small legislative fix to bring these vehicles into that too. I assume they escape from it by having no engine, or fewer than 10 seats including the driver? Does anyone know which?

Both, really. Of course in reality a lot of these pedicabs are legally classed as mopeds or motorbikes, as they are bicycles modified outwith the restrictions for e-bikes. The Met do occasionally make crackdowns, but they do generally require suspicion before they start collaring pedicab drivers and testing their motors, so it's not very effective.

Stage carriages can have any fares they like (though technically they are per-passenger). The operators aren't legally doing anything wrong by charging £50 for a 10 minute drive, providing they aren't scamming by adding zeros onto the card machine etc. I've seen a couple of videos of passengers calling the police, the Met turn up, and begrudgingly inform the passenger that it's a civil matter.

 

[Bald Rick]

i did like the article. Especially the bit about the ice cream van. I walked past it today. Tempted to do a covert ninja style deployment of a wheelclamp I have…

 

[whoosh]

If they try to rip you off then just walk away without paying anything. What are they going to do, go to the police?

Yeah, organised crime just let's you walk off without any hassle.

 

[greyman42]

Yeah, organised crime just let's you walk off without any hassle.

So would you explain what happens then?

 

[jon0844]

So would you explain what happens then?

I would imagine that you might be lucky and get away - but make sure you aren't seen later on. Just as likely is a phone call is made, or they shout to another rider nearby, and they take action to make you pay.

I guess it depends greatly on the time of day and where you are.

Personally, I would never get on one full stop. I know they're a scam, and given the authorities have done little to nothing to sort the problem - I wouldn't be confident of getting much help if something bad happened.