Transport for London has made the Pedicab Operators (London) Regulations 2026, introducing a licensing regime for those who organise, manage or supply pedicabs in the capital. The instrument was made on 18 February 2026 under powers in the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024, following consultation required by section 1(3) of that Act. Regulations on applications and suitability checks commence on 9 March 2026, while the duty to hold an operator’s licence and most operational provisions take effect on 30 October 2026. The instrument is signed by the TfL Commissioner, Andy Lord.
The regime defines an operator as any person or entity that runs one or more pedicabs in Greater London, including fleet owners, those who accept or arrange bookings, those who employ or contract drivers, and providers of booking platforms or dispatch services. A pedicab vehicle licence holder for two or more pedicabs is within scope. By contrast, a “driver‑operator” with a single pedicab is excluded from the operator category and will instead be governed by the separate driver and vehicle licensing regulations.
Any person may apply to TfL for an operator’s licence. Licences are granted for three years (or a shorter period if appropriate). Applications must be in the form TfL specifies and be accompanied by the prescribed fee set under the Pedicabs (London) (Fares and Fees) Regulations 2026. TfL may require further information, inspect proposed operating centres and other relevant premises, and may share information with appropriate bodies. Licences are not transferable and TfL may decline to proceed until the fee is paid.
TfL may grant a licence subject to the Regulations, the Schedule and any additional licence conditions it considers necessary. Conditions may relate to the approved operating model, equipment or systems used to run bookings, inspection of operating centres and provision of information during the licence period. Failure to comply with licence requirements or conditions without reasonable excuse constitutes an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
Grant is contingent on suitability and immigration status. TfL must be satisfied that applicants and associated persons who are required to live and work in the UK are fit and proper and not disqualified by immigration status. Where the applicant or an associated person has limited leave to remain, the licence must not extend beyond that leave; where section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 applies, a licence may be granted for up to six months. A licence ceases to be in force if a relevant person becomes disqualified by immigration status, and the licence must then be returned to TfL within seven days.
Safeguarding and vetting provisions apply from the outset. Applicants and all associated persons must undertake a basic DBS check through TfL’s appointed provider and supply the certificates with the application. Operators must ensure persons they employ or associate with booking activities who have direct contact with the public also complete a basic DBS check before starting work, and associated persons must complete annual checks during the licence term. Applicants or associated persons who have lived overseas for three months or more in the previous ten years must supply Certificates of Good Conduct, with exemptions for those granted or seeking asylum or refugee status in respect of the relevant country.
Operational control is tightened. Operators must ensure any pedicab provided to fulfil a booking is a TfL‑licensed pedicab vehicle and is driven by a TfL‑licensed pedicab driver. Fleet operators renting out or otherwise providing vehicles must make the same checks. A due diligence defence is available. These duties sit alongside the separate Pedicab Drivers (London) Regulations 2026 and Pedicab Vehicles (London) Regulations 2026, which govern driver and vehicle licensing standards.
Consumer protection measures include advertising rules: operators must not use the words “taxi”, “taxis”, “cab” or “cabs” (or similar) in advertisements for pedicab bookings, though use of “pedicab” is permitted. There is a publisher’s defence for those who publish adverts in the ordinary course of business without knowledge of a breach. Sub‑contracting is restricted: bookings may only be sub‑contracted to another licensed operator or to a TfL‑licensed pedicab driver, and a due diligence defence applies. The original contract with the passenger remains in force despite sub‑contracting.
Record‑keeping is extensive. Operators must maintain a contemporaneous booking record capturing, among other particulars, dates, collection points, destination, driver and vehicle identifiers, any sub‑contracting, agreed or estimated fares and fees for additional services, and the passenger’s consent to those charges. Operators and fleet operators must keep vehicle and insurance records and maintain driver records including identity, licence details and dates of engagement. They must also log staff engaged in booking activities who have public contact (with DBS references), complaints received and investigations, and lost property found or reported, including efforts to return items.
Retention rules require booking, vehicle, driver, complaint and lost property records to be preserved for 12 months. Where calls are tape‑recorded for bookings, recordings must be retained for 12 months. If an operating centre ceases to be used, relevant records for that centre must still be preserved for a year. Failure without reasonable excuse to comply with specified operational and record‑keeping requirements is an offence attracting a level 4 fine on summary conviction.
TfL’s enforcement toolkit includes powers to vary, suspend or revoke a licence for breaches of terms, requirements or conditions, for supply of false or misleading information, or where fit‑and‑proper or immigration status concerns arise in relation to the licence holder or associated persons. Suspensions and revocations generally take effect seven days after notice, but may take immediate effect where TfL is of the opinion that public safety requires it; reasons must be stated in the notice. TfL may maintain a register of licences and, on a supplementary register, licence holder addresses, disclosing addresses only where there is sufficient reason.
Operators may seek to vary their licence to add or remove operating centres, with applications accompanied by the appropriate fee. TfL will require assurances that any new premises meet approvals and permissions set out in the Schedule before adding them to a licence. Replacement licences may be issued where a business name or personal name changes, or a licence is lost, destroyed or defaced, subject to return of the original where applicable.
The Schedule sets out ongoing conditions. Operators must notify TfL within 48 hours of any arrest and release, charge, caution or conviction of the operator or associated persons, and within 14 days of specified changes, including changes to information supplied in the licence application. Operators must maintain an operating centre in Greater London with all necessary approvals, accept bookings only at the operating centre, and secure public liability insurance of at least £5,000,000 per event. Before a journey starts, they must provide passengers in writing with the agreed or estimated fare and any itemised fees for additional services, obtain the passenger’s agreement, and provide the driver and vehicle details.
Customer contact and data transparency are embedded. During business hours and throughout each journey, the person for whom the booking was made must be able to speak to someone at the operating centre, unless the licence is for a fleet operator only. Operators must supply TfL, when required, particulars of pedicab drivers and vehicles, locations of storage facilities they control or manage, and specified booking data at the frequency TfL sets. They must establish and maintain complaint‑handling and lost‑property procedures and may adopt up to five business names, notifying TfL accordingly.
Policy Wire analysis: the timetable gives the sector an eight‑month window-from 9 March to 30 October 2026-to complete applications, put DBS and overseas vetting processes in place, secure £5m public liability cover, formalise complaint and lost‑property procedures, and implement booking, fare‑quotation and record‑retention systems. Operators that advertise will need to amend digital and printed collateral to remove restricted terms, and platforms must ensure sub‑contracting is limited to licensed parties. TfL’s powers to share information obtained in applications and to inspect operating centres, including battery storage and charging sites, signal close coordination with safety authorities as the market formalises. The regime mirrors the fit‑and‑proper and immigration safeguards already used in taxi and private hire legislation, bringing a previously unregulated part of London’s transport into a clear compliance framework.