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Londoner gets charged £500 for 10 minute pedicab ride from Mayfair to Soho
Never change, London…
While London is known for its extortionate costs, one resident was recently left gobsmacked upon seeing how much a ten-minute pedicab ride cost him.
The passenger, who wants to remain anonymous, hailed one of the capital’s famous pedicabs in Mayfair for a ten-minute journey to Soho during a night out on July 29th.
However, after paying on card, the man was horrified to discover the outrageous cost of the short journey the following day.
Explaining how the driver ‘distracted him’ as he put in his card details, the man told The Local Democracy Reporting Service: “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.”
He then added: “It was £500. I’m not going to let that go. He should be fined £5,000 and have his pedicab taken off him.”
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The man has since reported the pedicab driver to Westminster City Council with the hopes of getting his money back and getting the driver responsible caught and fined.
As it stands, pedicab riders are able to operate without a licence, and can ultimately set their own rates.
Westminster Council is in the process of cracking down on rogue pedicab drivers in the area, and has issued guidance on how they should operate.
A recent Met Police investigation resulted in five pedicab operators being issued with record fines coming to a total of £5,682.
Councillor Aicha Less, deputy cabinet leader for Communities and Public Protection, told the Evening Standard: “Pedicabs are an unlicensed nuisance and drivers regularly block pavements, play loud music, and charge extortionate fares.
“We want people visiting the West End to have fun and to be safe, and the council will continue to work with the police to take action against antisocial pedicab drivers.”