A London pedicab driver charged customers £180 for a three-minute ride

Westminster City Council wants to crack down on rickshaw drivers

A rickshaw taxi rides past in Soho, London (Getty Images)

If you thought black cab prices were high, think again.

A pedicab driver working in London’s West End has been ordered to return £180 he charged two customers for a three-minute journey.

According to Westminster City Council, who have launched a crackdown on “nuisance” pedicab operators, two women told officers that one driver initially informed them that their brief trip would cost £18.

But when the trip ended and they went to pay him, he added an extra zero to the fee.

Enforcement officers and police tracked down the operator on Saturday and told the cyclist to return the money to the women.

The action came as the council carried out an operation between 9pm and 4pm over the wekend to get pedicab operators in line throughout Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Soho, Chinatown, Mayfair and Oxford Street.

Around 70 pedicabs were told by officers to move on after they were found to be blocking pavements, while nine riders were reported under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 for playing music that was “likely to be an annoyance”.

A further two written warnings were issued to riders under the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 for blocking a public footway and playing loud music past 9pm.

Councillor Heather Acton, Cabinet Member for Communities and Regeneration, said: “Pedicab operators are an unlicensed nuisance that have plagued the West End for years, preying on tourists and annoying local residents.

“There is little regulation around them and they are uninsured – there are serious safety concerns around them.

“As with Saturday night’s operation the council works with the police when criminality is involved, but there are limitations on our powers,” she added.

“With the West End beginning to recover from 18 months of restrictions and disruption, it’s time for the government to act and ensure that pedicab drivers undergo safety checks and pay road tax.

“Residents deserve respite from noise and our visitors should be safeguarded from vulnerable vehicles, sharp practice and scams.”

Pedicabs are notorious for overcharging tourists who are unfamiliar with the capital.

In 2015, a group of tourists were charged £206 after travelling less than a mile from Oxford Circus to Marble Arch.