Pedicabs to face regulation in London

The Government response into the Report of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing has revealed that there is widespread support for London's pedicabs to be regulated.
The Task and Finish Group's (TFG) report said that "Legislation should be introduced by the Government as a matter of urgency to enable Transport for London to regulate the operation of pedicabs in London."
The Government stated in response to the TFG report that "The Government fully supports this recommendation."
They then followed up by saying "Under the current law, pedicabs can be regulated as taxis elsewhere in England but not in London. This is the result of the differing legislation that governs London and the rest of England. In London, pedicabs are considered to be 'stage carriages' rather than taxis (hackney carriages). The resulting lack of any regulation of pedicabs in London is an anomaly which needs fixing, in the clear interest of passengers."
They finally added in their response to the TFG report that "The Government has worked with TfL to support the Pedicabs (London) Private Members' Bill brought forward by Paul Scully MP. The objective of the Bill has cross party support, and we hope that Parliament will enable this to become statute. Should the Pedicabs (London) Bill not become law, the Government will put forward its own legislation when time permits to enable TfL to regulate pedicabs."
Pedicab numbers have expanded year-on-year, and despite assurances that legislation would be put in place to protect the public by successive London Mayors, there has been no action to deal with what is seen by many as an utter menace on Londons streets.
Therefore the Governments decision to support the TFGs proposal will no doubt be welcomed by many.