Great Western Coffee Shop

So what's coming on Transport - from The BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67300230)

That cannot happen soon enough, was out in the West End a while ago and saw two of them having a race. The passengers in both were egging their respective 'driver' on to go faster and beat the one carrying their friends. 

This is good news to a limited extent.  It gives a commitment to the GBR project, which is still working away quietly in the background.  The downside is with a general Election looming what ever is in the "draft" cannot be taken as an absolute shape of a new Government policy.  I suspect it will be light on specific detail as the Conservative Party will want to save anything radical for their manifesto

I also thought it rather underwhelming. GBR will probably continue whatever the outcome of the election. The rest is tinkering, with the exception of the animal bill. I thought that had been enacted years ago.

Glad to see proposed controls on pedi cabs. These SOUND a good idea, as no fossil fuel is used , but seeing the reckless way in which many are operated they are a menace.
Some are modified to use an electric motor as well as pedals, this adds lithium battery fires and greater speeds to the mixture.

Drifting a little O/T but the police wanted the CCTV recordings from the car park at my then place of work in central London.
Apparently "an act of gross indescency" was performed in/on a pedi cab. At the crucial moment the vehicle turned over injuring those within.
They presumably believed that darkness concealed this, not knowing about low light cameras.

I have only used one of these contraptions once, too far to walk and no proper taxis to be found. I was concerned lest the scrawny youth operating the machine expired en-route.
We dont have them in Somersetshire, still use the horse, though new fangled motor buses are now used also.

From Veluba (https://veluba.com/the-legality-of-pedicabs/)


References in there back to Victorian Law; there may be appropriate stuff for modern times in there, but as a whole there are very silly elements in there - for example why should a pedicab be operable in Oxford Street, London but not on London Road, Oxford?

1. There seems to be a desire to regulate (and to tax); whilst on one hand I'm 100% for safety, I wonder at whether suggestions of  insurance, MOT tests, helmet laws, road tax, etc, on pushbikes are dangerous in putting people off using such devices.

2. Modern greener vehicles - especially personal ones that transgress what was technologically possible until recently - need to be allowed to be used safely for legal ends.   And in there, I include ebykes (pedal assisted and not), scooters, pedicabs, Segways, mobility chairs, unicycles, etc. 

To be legally hailed in the street outside of London pedicabs drivers at present to have a taxi driver's Hackney Carriage licence - which effectively stops them from being anything other than a pre-booked service. This makes them no different from any other private hire vehicle.

They need to agree the fare *before* boarding. I've been ripped off simply going from one end of Oxford Street to the other.

Oxford Street and rip-off are two things that go hand in hand.

I saw the police the other day at a Taxi rank in Knightsbridge where a Pedicab/rickshaw had pulled up and was waiting. One of the police officers spoke to the bloke in charge of it and asked for his Hackney Carriage Licence. Cocky bloke says he doesn’t need one in a rickshaw and police officer says “that’s debatable” but points out that he definitely does need one to be in the Taxi rank! Idiot replies that he’d only just pulled up and will be on his way if that’s what they would like. Officer says they were watching him sitting there for the last 10 minutes and that now he was lying to a police officer as well. Bloke apologised profusely and officer says if he does that again he will be in serious trouble.

An electric rickshaw has been totally destroyed by fire, outside Buckingham Palace. Probably a lithium battery that was "over cooked" though even the much safer lead acid batteries can produce enough current to ignite defective wiring.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68700768 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68700768)

Wouldn't happen on a safe, comfortable, reliable 9 or 10 carriage IET.

Not in my view a valid comparison, IETs are for longer journeys than would reasonably by made by rikshaw.
IETs do indeed seem safe, but are not either comfortable or reliable.

If you've ever tried those rickshaws, your comments would be very similar plus on a distance basis, far dearer even than GWR!!

I have only used a pedal powered rickshaw once, better than walking is all that can be said in favour.

Many years ago I saw one take a corner near Trafalgar Square at high speed, overturning and tipping out the two passengers who did not appear to be hurt. They walked away and I hope did not pay the driver. They are in my view a menace slowing down other traffic and blaring out loud music. I wonder if they need a PRS licence?

The music is recorded, thus they need a PPL licence. PRS is for music played live.

I was unaware that a Private Pilots' Licence was needed. Fixed wing or rotary?

Actually technically you need PRS license if you have one of those rickshaws and playing music. London black cabs where the driver is playing music and the passenger can hear it also need a license. The PRS who I have dealt professionally (as well as below) with will tell you those are public performances of their members music and therefore needs a license. They have been known to call businesses that don’t have a license and tell them they’re in trouble.

I have been called at home, back when I had a landline number and the person on the other end told me they could hear music. They then explained that I needed a license from the PRS to do so and they’d be happy to charge me a vast sum for it. The number I had been given when I moved in was for the old Red Lion pub down the road which had closed less than a year previously. I pointed out that it wasn’t a pub number anymore, it went to a private residence, the pub had closed and I was going to play whatever the hell I wanted.