Rickshaws could become the new taxi cab in Bury St Edmunds under new plans to expand the current voluntary service into a fare-paying opportunity for tourists.
The West Suffolk Council licensing and regulatory committee will be discussing the possibility of offering licences to rickshaw drivers at its next meeting on Monday, January 23.
In a report published on its website, the council details that it was approached last year by a provider of pedicabs who wished to transfer from running a voluntary service to a fare-driven model.
Co-founder of the Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw charity Libby Ranzetta, 55, said the organisation is looking to expand into a green taxi cab service.
This would not affect the charity's current offering of giving free rides for local people experiencing social isolation, complete with 'chatty chum' volunteers to accompany solo passengers.
"We're in the very early stages and would need the members of our community to agree before we proceed," said Ms Ranzetta.
"We're keen to go through the proper channels to ensure it is regulated."
Having recently expanded into a commercial delivery service named EcoCarriersBSE, the not-for-profit enterprise decided to also explore the opportunity for a cycle taxi service.
Ms Ranzetta added: "Bury St Edmunds rickshaw will stay the same and, if this new concept proves to be successful, we would like to introduce two or three pedicabs dependent on funding."
Mark Cordell, chief executive of the Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District, believes the introduction of a rickshaw taxi service would be a "huge success" from a tourism perspective.
"We had a number of queries from tourists who wanted to hire one to see the sights last year," he said.
"The priority is around their current passengers experiencing social isolation, but this would be a great offer for tourists to expand their current provision of services."
As this idea would result in the business receiving payments, West Suffolk Council has advised that the company would need to be licensed.
However, the council's existing Hackney Carriage and Private Hire handbook only covers conditions for taxi drivers and operators and would have to be rewritten to extend to pedal-powered vehicles.
The licensing and regulatory committee is discussing this matter at its next meeting on Monday, January 23 ahead of a potential review of policy later in the year.
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