Drivers were often operating in a ‘Wild West’ environment, the Mayor of London has admitted, with soaring fares unregulated and no safety standards
Sadiq Khan’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner has insisted new pedicab regulations will be enforced effectively to prevent drivers working illegally and account sharing to circumvent the rules. Stringent new laws introduced by Transport for London (TfL) this week include drivers needing an enhanced DBS check and a full driving licence, as well as meeting strict English language requirements and passing a safety assessment from October this year.
They will need to display a valid pedicab licence at all times on a road legal vehicle from February 2027. There are concerns over whether TfL have the manpower and resources to enforce the regulations on London’s streets, however – and if they do, whether they can crack down on drivers attempting to flout the new laws.
Thomas Turrell, the transport spokesman for the City Hall Conservatives, warned: “This is a welcome step forward but the devil will be in the detail. How will TfL be enforcing the regulations, and can TfL cope the licencing scheme given the mess they are in taxi and private hire licencing.
“For too long these pedicabs have blighted Central London. They have become a nuisance, and in many cases a danger. It is important that this makes a real difference and isn’t just a press release.”
“The drivers themselves will need licences, which will involve criminal records checks, as well as theory tests and English language tests,” Will Norman, who became became London’s first Walking and Cycling Commissioner in 2016, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
“The operators themselves, as businesses, will have to hold an operator’s licence, and the vehicles will be licenced themselves with with licence plates and all the safety checks. All three of those will ensure that there won’t be a black market because you’ll be able to have the operators registered, the vehicles registered and the drivers registered.”
Chris Plummer, TfL’s General Manager for Policy and Regulation, confirmed that the network had recruited additional officers directly targeted at security, policing and enforcement of pedicabs.
“The initial phases will be around encouraging compliance, letting drivers and operators and vehicle owners know that regulation is coming, enforcement will be coming, making sure they’re aware of it and really encouraging them to get ready for it,” he told the LDRS. “When the dates come into effect, that’s when you’ll see the real strength in the enforcement of the licencing action.”
Until TfL finally received the powers to regulate the vehicles under the Pedicabs Act 2024 passed last year by the government, drivers were often operating in a ‘Wild West’ environment, the Mayor of London has admitted, with soaring fares unregulated and no safety standards to follow. It has taken a year, and two consultations, for TfL to get to this point, but Mr Plummer says the resulting laws speak for themselves.
He added: “We wanted to take the time to make sure we got this right. We received over 10,000 responses during two consultations – we wanted to make sure the regulations were informed by a variety of views, from users to operators to residents and business owners. We believe these are fair and proportionate, and go a long way to tackling the issues raised.”
Rachel Blake, the Labour MP who represents the Cities of London and Westminster, has been an ardent campaigner for the regulations to come in swiftly and effectively. “I regret the delay in this,” she told the LDRS. “I’ve been chasing up TfL since I became an MP (in 2024).
“What we need to focus on now is that we’ve got the regulations in place, we need make sure that they’re in force so that my constituents here in the very centre of London can enjoy their homes. My constituents have been waiting for these regulations for a really long time.
“They are sick of the noise that come out of pedicabs and they’re really concerned about the safety for passengers as well. My constituents here in the centre of London absolutely love being part of these communities but it’s really important that that happens alongside safe and clean streets and pedicab needs to obey the rules then.”
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