Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, has called for the Government to urgently introduce new legislation to regulate the growing number of rickshaw operators working in Dublin and other cities. Crowe said that many naïve passengers are essentially putting their health and safety at risk with no insurance or comeback if an accident happens.

Rickshaws are currently classifieds as cyclists, despite the fact that they carry passengers and work on a commercial basis.

There is currently no legislation at all covering rickshaws operators, so they are not obliged to register, and authorities currently have no idea how many rickshaws are in operation on our streets

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“Rickshaws have been appearing on streets all over Ireland for last couple of years but there is no legislation in place at the moment to regulate them. This is a crazy situation that has been allowed to develop by the authorities. Other road users are highly regulated and penalised in many cases with the added burden of increased insurance and licencing laws.

“New regulation is clearly needed for the health and safety of the general public, other commuters but also the rickshaw operators and their passengers.

“There is currently no record or standard on whether to judge if rickshaws are roadworthy. Simple things like do the brakes work, are the tyres are fit for purpose, that the body of the rickshaws have no sharp edges, or that they are even anyway safe to operate on the road currently don’t apply.

“Clearly other road users and passengers should also have access to legislation should a traffic accidents or incidents occur involving these rickshaws.

“These anomalies need to be addressed and as a minimum the rickshaw operators need to be registered and basic health and safety regulations drawn up and applied to the sector.

“The rules of the road should apply to everyone.”

Crowe continued:

“Many taxi drivers are extremely critical of rickshaws, with some complaining that rickshaw operators show a flagrant disregard for the rules of the road. They cite numerous incidents of rickshaw operators going onto footpaths, and entering pedestrian only areas, not indicating when turning left or right, and they complain they are a hazard on the road. They also have a valid complaint when they say that rickshaws are blatantly unsafe and not roadworthy by any stretch of the imagination.

“Other complaints have come from passengers who have alleged being charged extortionate amounts of money for a short journey.

“There is also the obvious security and safety concerns with what could very well be vulnerable passengers being carried by someone who has no had background check.

“So in view of the many legitimate and growing concerns surrounding rickshaw operators I am calling on the Minister for Transport Shane Ross to prioritise and introduce legislation to regulate this sector as a matter of urgency.

“I wrote to the Minister to outline all these concerns but the reply was unsatisfactory and in my opinion lacks the necessary urgency that is needed in the case. With an increase in these rickshaw operators it is unacceptable that this sector has so far been allowed to develop without any oversight or even the most basic regulation.”

ENDS