Have you ever had a ride in a rickshaw around central London? I made the mistake of taking a rickshaw when there were no cabs all the way back to camden – I felt pretty bad but I was assured that I was light compared to the three blokes the cyclist had in the back beforehand.

The ride was expensive, if novel and I am sure if I had been more sober I would have had a far numb-er bum and I didn’t exactly feel safe.

They are still a pretty big piece of soho and the west end though so should they really be banned? Boris Johnson thinks so.

Boris has called for Rickshaws to be banned in the west end saying “Although there are a number of responsible pedicab companies, the fact is that these vehicles jam up the roads and consistently fail to ensure the safety of their passengers,”

An issue with the Rickshaws or Pedicabs as they are also called is that there are no real safety or price guidelines when it comes to owning or operating one.

One of the reasons Boris is now concentrating on this new law is that TfL figures showed there have been 365 arrests of pedicab drivers and seizures of their vehicles over the past year with 839 police warnings being issued for offences including dangerous riding, causing obstruction and cycling on a footway. Five drivers were arrested this month, including a man wanted for deportation.

What do you think? Should they be banned?