London taxis: change in the law

Mark McNeill

I see from today's Guardian -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport...1390901,00.html

that motorbike taxis are to be outlawed in London as a result of a rule
change by Ken Livingstone, which states that a private hire vehicle
should have four wheels.

Will this apply to the cycle rickshaws in London, does anybody know?
Sounds to me like the taxicab lobby have pulled a fast one.

--
Mark, UK.
Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.

Not Responding

Mark McNeill wrote:
> I see from today's Guardian -
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport...1390901,00.html
>
> that motorbike taxis are to be outlawed in London as a result of a rule
> change by Ken Livingstone, which states that a private hire vehicle
> should have four wheels.
>
> Will this apply to the cycle rickshaws in London, does anybody know?
> Sounds to me like the taxicab lobby have pulled a fast one.
>

Rickshaws currently fall outside of all regulation and licencing. Which,
for the avoidance of doubt, is a Good Thing.

Unless the proposals are trying to bring rickshaws as a whole under
regulation, the number of wheels they have will remain irrelevant.

JLB

Mark McNeill wrote:
> I see from today's Guardian -
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport...1390901,00.html
>
> that motorbike taxis are to be outlawed in London as a result of a rule
> change by Ken Livingstone, which states that a private hire vehicle
> should have four wheels.
>
> Will this apply to the cycle rickshaws in London, does anybody know?
> Sounds to me like the taxicab lobby have pulled a fast one.
>
Thanks for pointing that out. The last sentence is chilling:

"A TfL spokeswoman said: "The purpose of private hire licensing is to
ensure the safety of passengers. We're not convinced that motorcycle
taxis are safe.""

What would it take to convince them if a safety record of nobody at all
killed or seriously injured is not sufficient?

Because they are "not convinced" they are banning a mode of public
transport with an excellent safety record, reducing the choice available
to people, stifling competition, putting several blameless companies out
of business and putting their staff out of work.

It's a good illustration of prejudice triumphing over evidence. Someone
could easily say the same to produce a mandatory cycle helmet law.

--
Joe * If I cannot be free I'll be cheap

Mark McNeill

Response to Not Responding:
> Rickshaws currently fall outside of all regulation and licencing. Which,
> for the avoidance of doubt, is a Good Thing.
>
> Unless the proposals are trying to bring rickshaws as a whole under
> regulation, the number of wheels they have will remain irrelevant.
>

Ta, and relieved (purely on principle) to hear it.

--
Mark, UK.
Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.