London may have got rid of it's highwaymen a long time ago but the stagecoach lives on. Indeed there are over three hundred of them on the streets of the city today.
How? Well, we're actually talking about those peddle-powered rickshaws that have been springing up unexpectedly in your rear view mirror over the past few years.
Last year, London's taxi drivers went to court to get pedicabs (yes, that's what they're called) outlawed, claiming they were bad for business. But the court ruled that a pedicab is officially a "stagecoach", and does not therefore breach the 1869 act of parliament which gives black cabs a monopoly on soliciting for passengers on London's street
But, according to this morning's Guardian, the battle is not yet over as, "Ken Livingstone's Transport for London authority will this week begin a consultation on a licensing regime for pedicabs, which have soared in numbers over the last six years".
Londonist has to admit that we agree with the cab drivers' claims that the pedicabs are "deathtraps" and we wouldn't get in one if the driver paid us.
Plus, the claims that some drivers "routinely levy rates equivalent to £25 per mile on unsuspecting tourists" makes us think that the days of the highwaymen aren't quite over yet.
