Sir, – Shane Ross is apparently “minded to ban rickshaws outright” (“Speeding drivers to face higher penalty points”, January 2nd). Given that rickshaws are simply pedal-driven vehicles that can carry passengers, one wonders how they could be banned without also banning a wide range of other types of bicycles that can do the same. Rickshaw drivers already get around the need to register as businesses or pay tax by not asking for a fare and are funded instead by voluntary donations from passengers.
Judging by the ever-increasing number of Dutch-style passenger and cargo bikes being used by parents commuting with children or couriers carrying cargo, is banning the entire category of vehicle for the sake of a few ne’er-do-wells not akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater? – Yours, etc,
JOHN THOMPSON,
Phibsboro,
Dublin 7.