Would you pay \u00a350 British pounds for ten minutes\u2014ten minutes!\u2014in a bicycle rickshaw? I hope not. But London is asking just how badly tourists can be ripped off by its unregulated pedicabs<\/p>\n
Hi there everyone\u2014this will be a fun one. It\u2019s Plain English, where we help you upgrade your English with stories about current events and trending topics. And I always look for stories from the English-speaking world to help you learn a little more about the places that speak your new language.<\/p>\n
And I came across a few articles about pedicabs in London. It brought back some memories of my time in London as a student. I saw them\u2014I did not take them. But now the British government wants to regulate pedicabs like taxis. And that means possibly capping the exorbitant prices they charge tourists. Is that a good idea? We\u2019ll talk about it today.<\/p>\n
In the second half of every Plain English, we talk about a common English expression. Today, that\u2019s \u201cdraw the line.\u201d Where do you draw the line? That\u2019s the question\u2026and we\u2019ll talk about what that means later on today.<\/p>\n
This is episode number 647. And that means JR, our producer, has uploaded the full lesson content to PlainEnglish.com\/647. If you\u2019re looking for the transcript: that\u2019s where you find it. PlainEnglish.com\/647\u2026and the transcript is free.<\/p>\n
All right. Ready to go? Let\u2019s do this. <\/p>\n
In many parts of the world, especially in Asia\u2019s teeming cities, the cheapest way to get around (other than walking) is on a rickshaw.<\/p>\n
The rickshaw was invented in Japan in the late 1800s. Early rickshaws had two or three wheels and an elevated seat. A single operator grabbed two wooden handles and pulled. It was a grueling job. <\/p>\n
By<\/a> the early twentieth century, bicycles had made things just a bit easier on the operators. Soon, these new bicycle rickshaws had taken Singapore and other Asian cities by storm. Today, there are millions of bicycle rickshaws in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, the Philippines, and more. <\/p>\n Outside Asia, bicycle rickshaws are a novelty or a tourist attraction, something you see just once in a while<\/a> . But you might be surprised to learn about one place full of bicycle rickshaws\u2014and that place is London.<\/p>\n In London, they\u2019re called pedicabs. They\u2019re popular with theatergoers leaving shows in the West End and with partygoers in SoHo. But more than anything, they\u2019re popular with tourists.<\/p>\n Unlike the rickshaws on the streets of Delhi, London\u2019s pedicabs are a luxury experience. To drum up<\/a> business, pedicab owners decorate their cabs with fake fur and neon lights. Operators play music and wave to tourists. Some try to attract a particular type of clientele. Those who<\/a> want to attract wealthy Middle Eastern riders put up pictures of Arab leaders and play traditional music.<\/p>\n Some people say the market for pedicabs is out of control. Taxis are regulated and prices are fixed. Uber and other rideshare apps are also licensed by the government. Elsewhere<\/a> in England, pedicabs are licensed and regulated like taxis.<\/p>\n But pedicabs are unregulated in the capital, thanks to<\/a> a loophole in London\u2019s original taxi law from the 1800s. As long as<\/a> pedicabs negotiate their fares individually with each client, they can escape government regulation.<\/p>\n So: there is no published price list; there are lots of tourists; and there are lots of drunk locals. The government says that all adds up to a major rip-off<\/a> . A new proposal would set a cap on prices and require pedicab drivers to be licensed and submit to safety standards.<\/p>\n One YouTuber went around London hotspots on a popular night, asking pedicab drivers how much it would cost to get from point A to point B. He found a wide range of prices\u2014from \u00a320 to \u00a340 for the same short route. One driver quoted him \u00a35 per minute, with a minimum of ten minutes. All this for a ride that would have cost just \u00a310 in Uber.<\/p>\n Some look at that experience and say that pedicabs are a rip-off, taking advantage of tourists who don\u2019t know what the price should be. But others say that a pedicab is less about transportation and more about entertainment. Many customers ask for round-trip rides\u2014meaning, they don\u2019t go from point A to point B<\/a> . They just want a fun ride around the West End.<\/p>\n Still, even many pedicab drivers say they\u2019re in favor of some kind of regulation. Licensing would increase safety: a driver\u2019s name and photo would be visible in the cab. Drivers would have to pass a background check. A lot of them don\u2019t mind this type of regulation.<\/p>\n But they draw the line<\/a> at price limits. Take the \u00a35 per minute fare. On a per-minute basis, that\u2019s \u00a3300 an hour\u2014a good pay rate for a lawyer at a top London firm. But the pedicab riders still struggle to make a living. They don\u2019t pedal the full hour; they\u2019re not busy all night long. They might only have a handful<\/a> of fares in a single night\u2014and not every night is popular. The flexibility to change their prices helps them pay the bills<\/a> . So what if the occasional tourist pays a sky-high price? They\u2019re happy one way or another<\/a> .<\/p>\n So should fares be regulated? It probably depends on how you see the pedicabs. The argument for regulating fares is strong in transportation, but much less strong in entertainment. So if you think the pedicabs are about transportation, fare rules might be appropriate. If they\u2019re really just about a fun time, then maybe not.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never taken a ride in a pedicab or a rickshaw. In India, it was out of pure guilt. I just could not sit down while another human being pedaled me up a hill on a bike. It\u2019s probably irrational, but I just couldn\u2019t do it\u2014not when I had two perfectly good legs.<\/p>\n And in London, I never took them because they are obviously\u2014I mean obviously\u2014a rip-off. Even the most gullible tourist, even the drunkest soccer fan, has got to know that this is not a cost-efficient way to get around. <\/p>\n
\n