The end of the noisy London pedicab

It’s 28 years since the modern London pedicab arrived on the streets of Soho and 23 years since the first unsuccessful attempt to ban them.

Now, after almost a quarter of a century of work, vast amounts of parliamentary time, plus the efforts of the greatest minds that Transport for London has to offer… there might finally be a legal process to stop pedicabs playing ABBA very loudly from their speakers in central London while charging rip-off fares.

Read on to find out what’s happening, plus a load of other stories.

London Centric’s reporters have spent this week criss-crossing the capital working on a series of forthcoming investigations into money and power in London. All of this is funded by our paying subscribers, who receive exclusive editions.

“That’s not enough to satisfy our owner”: London’s pedicab drivers face the end of their old business model

On Tuesday evening London Centric’s reporter broke the news to the pedicab drivers of Leicester Square that their fares would soon be capped at a maximum of £1 per minute. There was a mixed reaction.

The first driver said we were “probably BBC” and wouldn’t speak to us on account of the fact we’d just portray him as a scammer intent on ripping customers off. They were trying to entice parents on half-term holidays to treat their children to expensive rides around central London and didn’t want the attention.

Others were more willing to listen — and immediately clocked that TfL’s forthcoming regulations would not be compatible with their current way of making a living. Tanvir Ahmed, 27, said he paid £120 a week to rent his pedicab. Under the new proposed rates, he didn’t think he’d earn enough to cover that cost and have enough to live on.

“It’s not enough. Right now, it’s a very quiet season. We might get only £50 or £60. That’s not enough to satisfy our owner. So the rates might work in [busy times such as] November or at Christmas, but not now.”

On Wednesday morning Transport for London lifted the embargo on their plans, which are designed to turn the existing pedicab Wild West into a tightly-regulated environment.

Among the requirements are:

• From October fares will be metered and capped. Drivers will be able to charge a base fare of up to £5, plus a per-minute charge of up to £1, then a supplement of £3 for