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Council bans rickshaws from giving 'free' rides.
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Author:  Sussex [ Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:11 am ]
Post subject:  Council bans rickshaws from giving 'free' rides.
Council's 'silly' ban on rickshaw ride blamed on taxi licence law

AN arts company at Derby Festé was banned from driving a rickshaw through the city centre because it did not have the right licence, the city council has revealed.

Leicester-based Metro-Boulot-Dodo said it wanted to take people on free five-minute rides around the centre, beginning and ending at the same spot in the Market Place.

But a few days before the event on Saturday, Derby City Council told the company that its rickshaw would have to remain stationary. The council previously told the Derby Telegraph that the decision was "due to a by-law" but could not give further information.

Now the authority has said it was because Metro-Boulot-Dodo had not applied to the council for a Hackney carriage licence in advance of Derby Festé. Paul Long, one of Metro-Boulot-Dodo's artistic directors, said the decision was "silly" because his company never intended to use their rickshaw as a taxi.

He said being in a moving vehicle was vital to the "artwork", called Whispers from a Rickshaw. The intention was that passengers should be taken for a ride while listening to stories inspired by a trip an artist had taken to China. This was accompanied by Chinese classical music and electronic sounds.

A council statement said its decision was based on previous licensing cases. It said: "Metro-Boulot-Dodo had not applied to the council in advance of Derby Festé for a Hackney carriage license. "The Taxi Licensing Appeals Committee grants licences for the city's Hackney carriages (non-motorised taxis).

"The licence for a Hackney Carriage comes with the specific conditions that the vehicle may be flagged down at any point by the public and it cannot decline a fare within the city boundary. "The licence can only be purchased if these conditions are adhered to.

"In this particular case, the city centre manager had to make a decision on the rickshaw's use, based on previous similar licensing cases. "As no license had been applied for, it was decided that the rickshaw could be part of Derby Festé, but was to remain stationary in the Market Place."

Mr Long said Whispers from a Rickshaw had visited nearly 30 cities without facing a similar problem. He said: "Its not a taxi. "It would not have taken anyone from one place to another.

"They seem to have taken away something from the public which they could have had for nothing. "It just seems to be really silly."
Author:  Sussex [ Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:12 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Council bans rickshaws from giving 'free' rides.
Sussex wrote:
"It just seems to be really silly."

I know licensing a cab be a right inconvenience.

You are gaining a benefit from driving folks from A to B.

Get licensed or f*** off.

The choice is yours.
Author:  grandad [ Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:44 am ]
Post subject: 
I am guessing that this arts festival is being held outside and is free to visit. So what benefit would the organisers be gaining?
Author:  edders23 [ Sat Oct 09, 2010 6:09 pm ]
Post subject: 
This sounds like a piece of performance art so could they not do it off the public road somewhere does it really have to take place at that location they wouldn't be in breach of bylaws then
Author:  Sussex [ Sat Oct 09, 2010 7:04 pm ]
Post subject: 
grandad wrote:
I am guessing that this arts festival is being held outside and is free to visit. So what benefit would the organisers be gaining?

I suspect there is some kind of advertising/promoting going on.

But that's not really the point, if you want to take folks from A to B, or in this case A to A, then get licensed.

That applies to all, no license, no ride.
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