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Greater London Authority Bill

I declare an interest as a special adviser to the board of Transport for London. I might have been appointed to the board had it not been for the political restrictions discussed under the previous clause. I have to praise my noble friend’s ingenuity in raising the issue in this fashion. He has, quite properly, highlighted an issue. The issue does not just affect tourists. I could take noble Lords to a Sainsbury’s in Liverpool Road, Islington, where pedicabs queue outside to take people and their shopping home. There are real safety questions involving the roadworthiness of the vehicles, the trustworthiness or skills of the people who propel them, and how those people behave on the road or pavements. A proper system of regulation and registration would be appropriate. Before the regulation of minicabs in London, reservations were expressed about whether it could work. Yet, I do not think that many people now would say that that regulation has been anything other than highly beneficial. A few hard-line Hackney carriage drivers might still say that it was the thin end of a particularly nasty wedge, but the public welcomed such regulation and would welcome the regulation of pedicabs.