I went undercover to find out what London pedicab drivers charge

I went undercover in central London to discover how much pedicabs charged - some riders were tense and accused me of being a cop but still wanted me to pay £20 for a five-minute trip.

Equipped with a hidden microphone and dressed in plain clothes, I wandered around Leicester Square for two hours on a chilly Friday evening and saw riders park on busy pavements and blare music without a care in the world.

They wanted to charge me between £20 and £50 for a five to 10-minute journey and tried to sugar me up with detours. Using an Uber for these trips, without detours, costs no more than £8.

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[Mike--Oxmall]

I did meet a chubbyish Indian guy with glasses a couple of years ago and he used to be the cheapest. He charge based on distance, it was something like £5 a mile, it it was less than a mile and a hal he used to do it for a fiver still. He told me the other riders used to threaten him because he undercut them so much but compared to a bus he was still a rip off.

[michael_sharples]

5 quid a minute!!! Yeah totally fair 😒🤡

[KateHarrison-sj]

Got charged £90 for a five minute ride - disgusting!!

[busouting]

Why ride them when there is London Bus for less than £2? I guess it's a tourists thing. I always wondered how much they cost. Thank you for covering it

[KateHarrison-sj]

I recently took one - a 5 minute ride from theatre to hotel - charged (Only took it cos friend had dodgy knee) TOTAL RIP OFF! Never again.

[SaSa-fssb]

Why would anyone want to get in these ???

[dmisk]

try riding this big heavy thing, for that kind of money id give it a go

[lamueelfreeman]

If you ride for 10 minutes on a rickshaw and for example there’s 2/3 people that usually splits between everyone. That rider is physically riding you around for your pleasure. It’s a complete different experience than a Uber or a london taxi. If y’all can’t afford it just move on. Some of you people go buy a piece of cloth from Louis Vuitton for 10 times the price to show off but complain about a rickshaw rider. I bring my children to ride on rickshaws regularly and I sort of recognise this voice. This sounds like a Jamaican guy that I rode with before and he explained that the government only allow them a 250W motor which is very difficult as it put pressure on his knees and the bikes have to be maintained every week which is costly so if some of you use your common senses which you don’t you’ll realise they have family to feed and bills to pay. It’s really simple if you broke and can’t afford £50 don’t go bothering the guys because when it’s time to find money to buy drugs and cigarettes there’s no complaints but y’all complain about guys making a honest living. How much should they charge them a tenna?😂 GTFOH

[lloydielloydie]

What the hell does £5 buy you today. We seem to think that a pound is a lot of money these days, it isn’t.

[johnlones]

Any idea how to contact them. I need to make a dispute

[lamueelfreeman]

This guy you are interviewing seems very fair. I ride regularly on those bikes and have a conversation with a black rider and he explained to me and my wife that sometimes he’s waiting for hours just for one job plus he said the government gave them a 250 motor which is hard for them to ride. People look at these guys like they are nobody’s so they expect them to charge pennies. The guy also said because if the weight the bike carries on a regular they have to have them repaired weekly which is costly. You are always gonna have a few people that takes the piss but this Jamaican sounded man to me sounds very fair and upfront. These Louis Vuitton bags and shoes probably cost 100/200 to make in Pakistan, India and China yet people spent thousands on them and don’t complain. Leave the guys alone to make a living for themselves and their families they are doing a a hard job. If you can’t afford it jump on a Uber it’s two complete different set up.

[onuraltun]

It's not fair price but you can not compare with uber and rickshaw ??? 😂 it's car mate ..simply step on the gas and go, when it's cold close your window and open heating system or hot weather, open air-conditioning and etc Rickshaw it's a hard job to do.. if you say that example aaa uber it's 10£ it's mean you don't know nothing, empty brain or not educated person for them! But still ofc price too high ! Should be around 25 30£ and i dont know why everybody pretending like homeless in london.. its one of the expensive city in the world and peoples counting pennies here ..ohh 3£ ohh 5£ ohh 10£ wtf??.. they paying for stupid things millions but when someones working hard, they avoid to pay 40£50£ ..that killing me

[abdoucity]

Broken people trying to catch the wave

[Fractal]

He sussed you from the off; and he's right, some of them are NOT fun to ride and it is work.😫See them sweating in summer.😓
Is it worth the price for any journey in London? 😏No, never! 😂 It is, and will always be, an unnecessary luxury, predominately used by tourists 📸
Are 📷📸📱📱📱forced to spend £50 to travel 2 miles? 🤔No....but they can if they want to!🥳🤣Win-Win! 🤝
Should the prices be regulated🥸...How? 🧐Weight per vehicle, rider, passengers, (un)motorized, carbon emissions, farts per hour...?🥴
But..🚬 ☁forgetting price ☁they can be extremely handy 🤫BIG respect to all the 'honest' riders 🤠greasing the cogs of Lunden 😉🤢🤮