Seeing pink, fluffy pedicabs fly by in central London while blasting out Abba might be entertaining, but the unregulated cabs have come under scrutiny in recent years for charging extortionate prices and causing disruption on the city’s streets. Transport for London has been promising to crack down on pesky pedicabs for quite a while now. This week, the new laws for London’s rickshaws have finally been confirmed.
Thanks to the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024, new regulations are already in place and will be enforced in stages over the coming year. The big news is that for the first time TfL will enforce a maximum journey charge, meaning that rogue drivers will no longer be able to rip off unsuspecting tourists (in 2022 one man was reportedly charged £500 for a 10-minute journey).
Following two public consultations, TfL has come up with a number of new rules to improve the safety and experience of riding rickshaws. Here’s what they are.
New rules for London pedicab drivers
Pedicab licences
Drivers will have to pay £114 and the pedicab vehicle licensing fee and £100 for a one-year licence. Drivers will be able to apply for licences from 9 March 2026.
DBS checks for drivers
Drivers must undergo an enhanced DBS check, a full driving licence or valid theory test certificate, meeting English language requirements, passing an assessment of their safety, equality and regulatory understanding and meeting minimum medical standards.
Regular safety checks for vehicles
Cabs will have to meet standards including being road legal, displaying a valid pedicab licence identifier and having regular safety checks.
Operators must have a London premises
Operators will be required to have a London premises with fire risk assessments, record-keeping and a basic DBS check for staff.
Maximum journey fares
Subject to approval by TfL’s Finance Committee at its next meeting on February 25, the planned maximum fares would be as follows:
- A base fare of up to £5
- Aper minute charge of up to £1.
Where there is more than one passenger, there will be an additional charge of up to £3 for every additional passenger that can be added to the total fare. Fares have been set to ensure that pedicabs can still offer an income that exceeds the London Living Wage and will be kept under review as the industry evolves.
Ban on playing loud music
‘External audio’ will be banned from pedicabs going forwards.
What’s been said about the new pedicab rules?
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: ‘After years of campaigning, I’m pleased that TfL will be regulating pedicabs across the capital to ensure they meet proper operational standards.
‘Pedicabs should be a fun way to explore London – but too often people face rip-off fares, blaring music and unsafe behaviour. We’re bringing in these new rules so that both customers and drivers can benefit from an industry that is more safe, reliable and professional.
‘This will play an important role in supporting our vital night-time economy and enabling more people to enjoy all that our great city has to offer as we continue building a safer, fairer, greener London for everyone.’
Read more: How rickshaws claimed London’s roads as their own.
And did you see that Eurostar could massively cut boarding times at St Pancras International – slashing waiting times by 30 minutes?
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