A pedicab rider was arrested and equipment was seized during a multi-agency operation on Westminster Bridge, with Westminster City Council saying four penalty notices were also to be issued to riders.
The operation took place on 29 October 2026 and involved council city inspectors, police, Immigration Enforcement, Transport for London and mounted officers. The council said the teams were addressing suspected breaches of a public spaces protection order and other suspected offences.
The council said Immigration Enforcement arrested a pedicab rider and the vehicle was subsequently taken into council custody. The council did not give the grounds for the arrest, identify the rider or report whether the person was charged. An arrest does not establish that an offence has been committed.
Officers also seized a peanut trolley and equipment belonging to a street performer, the council said. It said the trolley’s owner and the performer would be reported for offences. A 360-degree photography machine was seized, with further action under consideration. The council did not give the individuals’ accounts or report any court findings.
The council said four fixed-penalty notices were to be issued to pedicab riders for alleged breaches of the public spaces protection order. It did not say which particular rules were involved or confirm that the notices had been served.
Police described an operation on Westminster Bridge that also involved a rider’s arrest, seizures and four notices. They said four notices had been issued and described a seized pedicab as abandoned. Police did not date the operation or their account, so it is not possible to confirm whether both organisations described the same incident, whether the vehicles were the same, or whether the notices have been served.
Caroline Sargent, the council’s cabinet member for enforcement, said the operation was intended to show that illegal activity and disruption in public spaces would be met with enforcement. The council said further intelligence-led work was planned at other locations in the city.
What the pedicab order covers
Westminster’s pedicab public spaces protection order applies within a defined area. It took effect in November 2025 and is due to expire in November 2028. The order lists prohibited conduct including playing amplified music from a pedicab, cycling or parking on footways, threatening behaviour and obstructing a public highway, including by gathering in groups of four or more.
Under the order, an authorised officer can require someone believed to have breached it to give their name and address and to leave the restricted area for an hour. The order specifies a £100 fixed penalty; a person prosecuted for a breach without reasonable excuse can face a fine of up to £1,000 on conviction. The council has not specified the amounts, if any, attached to the four notices.
These are general rules, not findings about the people involved on 29 October. The council did not link the arrest or each seizure to a specific breach of the pedicab order.
Wider licensing changes
A separate London-wide licensing scheme for pedicabs is being introduced by Transport for London. It defines pedicabs as pedal or power-assisted pedal cycles used to carry fare-paying passengers, including vehicles commonly called rickshaws.
Transport for London says drivers and operators must be licensed from 27 November 2026, when regulated fares also come into force. Vehicle licence applications are due to open on 4 January 2027, with vehicle licences required from 18 February 2027. Those dates are separate from the existing Westminster order and do not establish the reason for the arrest or any alleged breach on the bridge.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
