DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has issued a public advisory notice warning of the safety hazards of using rickshaws.
The vehicles, which are often motorised, are a popular form of transportation for late night revellers in the city centre.
“Dublin City council wishes to advise members of the public, for their own safety and the safety of others, that rickshaws operating in Dublin City are not regulated by DCC or otherwise,” the Council said in the notice posted on its website.
“Some rickshaw operators appear not to have public liability insurance,” it added.
Earlier this year, it emerged that the council hoped to have rickshaws banned at some stage this year, although to date there has been no movement regarding such a course of action.
“Rickshaws are a real difficulty in in Dublin because they’re unregulated,” Green Party councillor Ciaran Cuffe told TheJournal.ie. “We have written to the Department of Transport seeking such regulation and we’re still waiting for that to happen.”
Cuffe said that he and others are “quite frustrated” about the current regulatory situation, but stopped short of saying that a ban on rickshaws is necessary.
“I don’t necessarily think that rickshaws need to be banned, but those who use them should should ensure that they’re insured,” he said.
There have been a number of accidents with people falling out of rickshaws and of collisions with other vehicles – it’s a real worry because the combination of crowds and alcohol and narrow streets is so dangerous.
“We do need to regulate these vehicles – they need to have insurance, and lights, and at least some element of driver training,” he added.
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