Rickshaw Trikes in Soho

[mr_cellophane]

Watching a program last night about policing in Soho and that had one bit about those horrible trikes. I didn't realise they are not allowed in bus lanes because they aren't a bus and aren't a cycle either. . Ban the things completely I say, total menace around London.

 

[mickle]

Menace? How many KSIs have been attributed to them?

 

[zimzum42]

Admittedly they do make a mess of the traffic in central London, but I don't think that means they are the problem. London could do with a major rethink on how it deals with traffic in the very centre of town. Rickshaws are more like the answer than the problem in a wider sense, we could do with routing cars, black cabs and buses around and having the very centre with just rickshaws and maybe some light trolley bus/shuttle or the like. No need for digging up the roads and so on, just have a strictly enforced camera system like the CC

 

[BentMikey]

Watching a program last night about policing in Soho and that had one bit about those horrible trikes. I didn't realise they are not allowed in bus lanes because they aren't a bus and aren't a cycle either. . Ban the things completely I say, total menace around London.

Apparently the copper was just mistaken - a case of the law coming down on the side of the taxis who were in fact doing the same thing. A pedicab is still legally a cycle, and thus allowed in said bus lane.

 

[spandex]

What channel was it on?

 

[spandex]

Watching a program last night about policing in Soho and that had one bit about those horrible trikes. I didn't realise they are not allowed in bus lanes because they aren't a bus and aren't a cycle either. . Ban the things completely I say, total menace around London.

Why

 

[BentMikey]

Sarcasm I suspect. I'd much rather pedicabs than stinky black London diesel cabs.

 

[jmaccyd]

Sarcasm I suspect. I'd much rather pedicabs than stinky black London diesel cabs.

That have all been fitted with £1500 emission packs to meet Euro whatever compliance. I wouldn't argue about the 'stinkyness' of diesel but just make the point that cabs now have to meet emssion levels that are checked every year. I suspect cabs now (rather than in the fairly recent past) are no better or worse than other diesel fuled vehicles.

Oh, and if anyone thinks that pedicabs are how a modern 21st Century city can work its taxi system your off your trolley...

 

[zimzum42]

I don't think anyone thinks that cabs should be entirely replaced by pedicabs, but you could, for example, turn an area bounded by regent street, oxford street, charing cross road and the haymarket into a motorized vehicle free (except buses) zone for periods of the day and at weekends.

 

[jmaccyd]

I don't think anyone thinks that cabs should be entirely replaced by pedicabs, but you could, for example, turn an area bounded by regent street, oxford street, charing cross road and the haymarket into a motorized vehicle free (except buses) zone for periods of the day and at weekends.

You could IF there was substantially less traffic coming into London. Sadly, the failure to implement a really effective Congestion Zone makes that a distant probability. Besides, if your going to allow buses in then why not taxi's too? After all better to have a taxi doing multiple trips (say 15-20 in a shift with 1 to 5 passengers) than those people bringing their individual cars in to London.

 

[BentMikey]

Oh I'm quite happy with cabbies, I'm one of thefew supporters on here it seems. Going by the smell and fumes from some cabs I'm a bit doubtful that they are all compliant. OTOH I'm also quite happy to have pedicabs too, and I see this whole thing as a bit of anti-competitive whinging and bitching from the LTDA. Right tosser behaviour IMO.

 

[Arch]

Oh, and if anyone thinks that pedicabs are how a modern 21st Century city can work its taxi system your off your trolley...

I don't think anyone is advocating replacing the whole taxi system with pedicabs. But I think they can certainly play their part. It's a bit of fun, for a start, and cities should have more fun in them.

My BF and I took one when we were down there a couple of years back, we wanted to head for a certain restaurant but didn't know where it was exactly, although we knew we were in the right area, but didn't have a lot of time to look, because we had a certain train to catch home. We hopped in a rickshaw, he took us straight there in minutes (like one or two minutes) and we had a natter with him about the job along the way. It was all part of a really nice day out. I don't think we'd have thought of getting a black cab for that, and the driver might not have felt it worth his while for such a short trip.

 

[ed_o_brain]

I was surprised about the coppers' personal opinions on pedicabs being aired. They don't pay roadtax, ride along the pavement etc. etc.

I can't recall hearing any other police opinions about groups of people being aired in such away on any of these type of programmes.

 

[Dan B]

Oh, and if anyone thinks that pedicabs are how a modern 21st Century city can work its taxi system your off your trolley...

I doubt that anyone seriously does: the LTDA are presenting it as a strawman argument. It's like claiming that the pedalos on the Serpentine lake are taking trade from P&O - they serve an entirely different market and it's stupid to compare them. I think some people spend too long in tin boxes and not enough time in the fresh air

 

[Brains]

The issue with rickshaws is that they tend to be driven by foreign students who are hustling for tricks.

I'm in favour of them, but they need to be licenced like any other minicab driver for much the same reasons such as insurance, convictions for rape, fraud, GBH etc. some minimum (bike) driving qualifications as well a local knowledge

The plod need the ability to ban certain drivers and/or rickshaws

The current issue that is currently pissing off Mr Plod is the electric engines many of these things have recently fitted, which does make them a 'vehicle' rather than a bike