Greater London Authority Bill

This is clearly an issue. I, too, pay tribute to the ingenuity of my noble friend for raising this matter. We have had an interesting debate and I hope that I can offer him reassurance. I welcome the opportunity to debate pedicabs, a topical issue that reflects the proliferation of such vehicles on the streets of London. A range of views has been expressed about these vehicles. Some people, including my noble friend, enthuse about their contribution to London’s transport system. I can understand his affection for pedicabs, having heard in an earlier debate how he and his bride travelled from their wedding to their reception in one. That conjures up a pleasant image of a romantic pedicab experience. However, not everyone’s experience of them will be similar. Other views have been expressed. Some taxi drivers think that pedicabs should be banned altogether. The Government’s view is that they would make a valuable contribution to wider transport provision, provided that they are properly regulated. It is a concern that they are not, at present, regulated in London or, as we have heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, in the boroughs. The main issue identified by my noble friend is how to achieve proper regulation in the public interestand to ensure safety, particularly for passengers, pedestrians and other members of the public. I know that the principal operators share that objective. For example, the delightfully named pedicab operator Bugbugs met officials from the Department for Transport to explain that it wants an effective system of regulation. I should make it clear that the issue of regulating pedicabs relates only to London. Pedicabs in the rest of England and Wales are already subject to licensing by local authorities, although my noble friend has highlighted concerns about that. Plans to license pedicabs in London are being developed, and it is welcome that Transport for London is taking this matter seriously, although I hear the criticism that it is taking a long time to develop those plans. TfL is the appropriate licensing authority for London and itis only right and proper that it should take responsibility for regulating pedicabs, which are very much a form of local transport within London. TfL has already consulted on proposals to license pedicabs and, in the light of that, is now finalising its policies. Once achieved, the licensing system will provide a means of exercising comprehensive but proportionate control over pedicabs in London. The licensing system will address the important issues of safety and standards that are of concern to my noble friend. It will, for example, require insurance; it will subject riders to criminal record checks; it will involve safety checks on vehicles; and it will make the riders identifiable. As part of the process of establishing a licensing system TfL seeks clarification from the courts that pedicabs can actually be licensed as taxis—or hackney carriages as they are termed in the legislation. This is taking time and is a main reason why the introduction of a licensing system has taken longer than all parties would have hoped. I cannot speculate on the likely outcome of the court's deliberations. TfL has powers to make the legislation needed to license and regulate pedicabs within the taxi-licensing regime. Indeed, it is now working on the necessary amendments to the London cab order to facilitate the licensing of pedicabs. However, given that there is some concern about this approach, as the noble Lord described, I welcome the fact that TfL is initiating discussions with representatives of the pedicab industry about the trade's proposal for a voluntary licensing scheme, ahead of the resolution of the legal issues. TfL is hopeful that a voluntary licensing scheme, if it proves possible, could become the basis for the enforceable licensing scheme that it is trying to achieve. I hope that the noble Lord and the principal operators will find that encouraging, because I can see the possibility to discuss the concept of light-touch regulation. I hope he also appreciates that steps are being taken to establish a suitable licensing regime for pedicabs in London that seeks to ensure that pedicabs are appropriately insured. I know that the noble Lord is very concerned about that. Having said that, I support the clause.