LONDON:For an outsider, it's a strange and pleasant sight to see the pedicab - akin to the cycle rickshaw in India - weave its way across the London streetscape.
Since 1995, pedicabs have been a regular at West End, the entertainment area around Covent Garden, Leicester Square and the more crowded Soho, Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus.
Today there are more than 400 of them going up and down the busy London streets. And come 2012, the pedicabs will play an important role in giving the London Olympics a green image.
"The Olympic Village is trying to have 100-400 pedicabs so as to have an eco-friendly environment," said Friedel Schroder, managing director of BugBugs, the market leader in creating pedicabs since 1998.
Life is not so easy for pedicab drivers who often have to struggle to earn a meagre income.
Gokhann, 20, a Turkish national, clad in blue jeans and a black turtleneck sweater , stands in front of the Leicester Square tube station. He has been waiting for two hours for a customer to hitch a ride on his pedicab.
"Sometimes I enjoy my job. But at times, I am tired, especially when I have to pedal with four people on the pedicab," Gokhann told IANS. He said on some days he earns a mere 20 pounds.
An Egyptian national who did not wish to be named took up a job as a pedicab driver the day after he came to London almost three months ago. "Money is very difficult to come by in this job. It is difficult to go on like this," he said.
With the Olympics Village giving the nod to pedicabs, there is now some hope for Gokhann and others, as they feel the humble rickshaw could get a lot of publicity during the mega sporting event.
The pedicabs are popular among tourists who take short rides in the eco-friendly vehicle for a few pounds.
"I loved chatting with the pedicabbie when I took it from Oxford Street to Edgware Road. It's a lovely way of seeing London," said Rama Arya, a communications expert for the South African government.
A short trip from Leicester Square to Covent Garden varies from five to 10 pounds and this irks the 'big brother' - the London black cabbies.
"There's no regulation on the pedicab fares. They fleece the tourists for a five-10 minute journey. Our main problem is the congestion the pedicabs creates on the streets," said Bob Oddy, general secretary, Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA).
But pedicab driver Carl, a Polish national, refutes the allegation. He says he accepts whatever the riders give as a tip, while the fare of the journey is conveyed to the riders in advance.
"Since I am a part-time student, I work when I want and it's quite flexible," said Carl before being driven away by a policeman to Henrietta Street from Covent Garden.
Pedicabs are not licensed and this keeps them on the move, looking for prospective riders. "This is a big problem we are facing. We can't stay anywhere and when the police see us, they ask us to move. We are also human beings and how can we keep on pedalling for six to eight hours?" asks Carl angrily.
According to Schroder, who is also secretary of the London Pedicabs Owners Association (LPOA), the Westminster City Council is coming up with a voluntary registration scheme soon.
"This scheme would ensure that the pedicabs are of high standard and also to have proper pedicab parking bays," Schroder said.
Pedicabs can also be seen in Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh. But it's the London pedicabs which are popular with the tourists and locals. In other cities, they are hired for weddings and corporate events.
IANS
(Cynthia Chandran can be contacted on cynthiachandran@gmail.com)