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25 March, 2009 13:27 (GMT +01:00)

Pedicabs a "matter of liberty" Mayor Johnson

City Hall Desk

Mayor Johnson today faced the growing resentment and opposition of Assembly Members to pedicabs at City Hall questions session today, with calls to ban them from the roads of the capital. The Mayor in response to a question by Roger Evans and Brian Coleman responded by asking members to raise hands if they were for or against pedicabs in London; which was prevented to take place by Jenette Arnold the Chair of the London Assembly.

Mayor Johnson said on the issue of the pedicabs:

"I am a cyclist and believe in liberty that is why I am still undecided on the issue".

Brian Coleman then raised the concerns of his constituents in Covent Garden who find pedicabs a nuisance and annoyed at the unregulated nature in the way pedicabs operate.

The London Daily News is aware of legal action by black cab organisations that are being brought to courts to enforce the Hackney Carriage which in effect prohibits any vehicle plying for hire in London that is not a regulated black cab.

Indeed Westminster Council in 2008 attempted to rid motor operated pedicabs from the streets of the borough which were fixed with motors from the West End.

Westminster in a statement said:

"Many of the riders of the 'souped-up' pedicabs are also uninsured and frequently flout traffic laws by mounting kerbs and jumping traffic lights - as well as carrying more passengers than the pedicabs are designed for."

Cllr Danny Chalkley, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: "The sheer number of these deathtraps has left us with little choice other than to take firm action. At the moment what should be a fun visit to the West End could all too easily turn into a tragedy for innocent passengers, and I'm not prepared to stand by and wait for that to happen."

In a bid to rid the capital's streets of the unsafe pedicabs officials from the council, along with officers from City of Westminster Police and Traffic Unit, will set up a series of checkpoints in the heart of the West End and seize electrically assisted pedicabs and pedicabs flouting traffic legislation.

It is believed that up to 80 per cent of the 1,000 pedicabs in Westminster have been adapted to run on car batteries, often hidden under the passenger seat.

What has also angered black cab organisations is the proposal to have a designated pedicab bay which in effect will be a rank, and will mean pedicabs plying for hire.

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