Tourist furious at pedicab’s £500 charge for short trip

A TOURIST has called for London’s pedicabs to be regulated after he was charged £500 for a 10-minute journey.

It was only after making the card payment for the ride from Mayfair to Soho that he realised £500 had been taken from his account.

The man, who has not been named, claims that he was “completely” distracted and did not see how much he was being charged. “He completely distracted me,” he told Mylondon. “I’d had a few drinks, and I should have realised but I blindly put my card in the machine. He was good at what he did. I wouldn’t get in one again.”

The incident has been reported to Westminster city council, with the man hoping to retrieve his money if the driver is caught. “It’s £500 – I’m not going to let that go,” he said. “He should be fined £5,000 and have his pedicab taken off him. They’re not safe.”

This week, the council said they had charged six pedicab operators more than £5,000 as part of a crackdown on the unlicensed vehicles in partnership with the Metropolitan Police.

Adam Hug, the council leader, said: “Unlicensed pedicabs are a dangerous nuisance. We’ve had enough of drivers blocking pavements and causing accessibility issues, annoying residents and businesses late at night, and charging extortionate fares to visitors.

“People visiting the West End deserve to be able to travel through our city safely without being ripped off by unregulated drivers.

“We will continue to work with the police to crack down on any pedicab drivers who flout the law.”