Pedicab Law

Roedd <<Not Responding>> wedi ysgrifennu:

Quoted message said:

I was in London recently and noticed all the rickshaws/pedicabs and it
set me wondering why we don't have them in other cities. I have vague
memories of a legal battle over their legality in Cambridge which, I
believe, the rickshaw wallah lost. Did that decision write off all
prospects of pedicabs outside London (where different laws apply)?

There's loads in Cardiff.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/travel/pages/velotaxi.shtml

or

http://tinyurl.com/3uqk6

--
Rob

http://www.asta51.dsl.pipex.com/webcam/

Not Responding said:

I was in London recently and noticed all the rickshaws/pedicabs and it
set me wondering why we don't have them in other cities. I have vague
memories of a legal battle over their legality in Cambridge which, I
believe, the rickshaw wallah lost. Did that decision write off all
prospects of pedicabs outside London (where different laws apply)?

Seen 2 "pedicabs?" recently in Cardiff at the station.

Not Responding said:

I was in London recently and noticed all the rickshaws/pedicabs and it
set me wondering why we don't have them in other cities. I have vague
memories of a legal battle over their legality in Cambridge which, I
believe, the rickshaw wallah lost. Did that decision write off all
prospects of pedicabs outside London (where different laws apply)?

I'm not entirely convinced that pedicabs are anything more than a novelty
transport mode. They aren't as fast as a bike in terms of beating traffic,
and they're definitely a lot slower than a regular taxi. Apart from the
environmental benefits, are there any other pluses to this form of
transport?

--
Akin

aknak at aksoto dot idps dot co dot uk

In article <[email hidden]>,

Not Responding said:

I was in London recently and noticed all the rickshaws/pedicabs and it
set me wondering why we don't have them in other cities. I have vague
memories of a legal battle over their legality in Cambridge which, I
believe, the rickshaw wallah lost. Did that decision write off all
prospects of pedicabs outside London (where different laws apply)?

I've seen both on the roads in Edinburgh, particularly around festival
time.

--
Mike Quin <[email hidden]>

Epetruk said:

I'm not entirely convinced that pedicabs are anything more than a
novelty transport mode. They aren't as fast as a bike in terms of
beating traffic, and they're definitely a lot slower than a regular
taxi. Apart from the environmental benefits, are there any other
pluses to this form of transport?

Drunks, er, I mean passengers seem to positively enjoy the slow al fresco
ride. And I bet they're cheaper than taxis. The London ones stick to a
small area of central London so no journey will take all that long.

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

Drunks, er, I mean passengers seem to positively enjoy the slow al fresco
ride. And I bet they're cheaper than taxis. The London ones stick to a
small area of central London so no journey will take all that long.

IIRC they're more expensive on a per-mile basis, but the users do so for
the experience, as much as anything.

Jon

Not Responding said:

I was in London recently and noticed all the rickshaws/pedicabs and it
set me wondering why we don't have them in other cities. I have vague
memories of a legal battle over their legality in Cambridge which, I
believe, the rickshaw wallah lost. Did that decision write off all
prospects of pedicabs outside London (where different laws apply)?

Not necessarily. Even if it established that councils can regulate
pedicabs in the way that Cambridge council officers wanted to, not all
councils need choose to apply more onorous restrictions to pedicab
drivers than normal taxis or bus drivers just because they can.

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 18/5/05 1:56 pm, in article
[email hidden], "Lee Bringer"

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There's loads in Cardiff.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/travel/pages/velotaxi.shtml

How can a bike have running cost of £2000/month. Taxis spend less than
that
on diesel.

I was speaking to a taxi driver here in Dundee. £2K per month is a normal
diesel spend (7-8K miles)

So how does a bike cost that much to run per month ?

Lee Bringer said:

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 18/5/05 1:56 pm, in article
[email hidden], "Lee Bringer"

Quoted message said:

> There's loads in Cardiff.
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/travel/pages/velotaxi.shtml

How can a bike have running cost of £2000/month. Taxis spend less than
that
on diesel.

I was speaking to a taxi driver here in Dundee. £2K per month is a normal
diesel spend (7-8K miles)

So how does a bike cost that much to run per month ?

Could they be meaning the wages of the riders, loan repayments on them,
repairs

Lee Bringer said:

So how does a bike cost that much to run per month ?

It's an electric assist so there will be recharging costs and battery
replacement costs.

As the service is free I'm not sure if the running costs mightn't
include the cost of the rider.

Colin

Alan Braggins said:

Not Responding said:

I was in London recently and noticed all the rickshaws/pedicabs and it
set me wondering why we don't have them in other cities. I have vague
memories of a legal battle over their legality in Cambridge which, I
believe, the rickshaw wallah lost. Did that decision write off all
prospects of pedicabs outside London (where different laws apply)?

Not necessarily. Even if it established that councils can regulate
pedicabs in the way that Cambridge council officers wanted to, not all
councils need choose to apply more onorous restrictions to pedicab
drivers than normal taxis or bus drivers just because they can.

I've answered my own question by finding a copy of the adjudication of
the court of appeal on the Cambridge affair;

http://www.richardbuxton.co.uk/reference/view.php?table=transcripts&id=104&flag=name

The final paragraph sums it up and concludes that pedicabs come under
hackney carriage regulation:

"Be that as it may, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Lane's
trishaws are within the definition of hackney carriage in section 38 and
are not excluded by the proviso. They are, therefore, licensable under
section 37 and, if that is right, sections 47 and 59 of the 1976 Act
apply to them."

I assume, therefore, that if I were to want to set up a pedicab business
I'd need to get licensed by the local authority. The drivers (riders?)
would similarly need individual licensing. As the local authority can
put whatever conditions they want on the licence and are not famous for
being pro-cycling/innovation, I now understand why so few places have
pedicabs on the street.