'Rip-off' rickshaw driver claims £206 one-mile journey was worth DOUBLE that amount

Ramzy Alwakeel4 August 2015

The rickshaw driver who caught on film trying to charge tourists £206 for a one-mile trip through central London has defended his fee, claiming the brief journey was actually worth more than £400.

Juris Dzjabovic, 22, was shown refusing to back down during a heated exchange with the family after taking them from Oxford Circus to Marble Arch on Wednesday evening.

Black cab driver Richard Long, who filmed the argument on his smartphone, told the Standard: "To be fleecing tourists like that - it's just disgusting."

But Mr Dzjabovic told the Daily Mail the fee was justified because he had been pedalling uphill.

"I don't come cheap," the Moscow-born opera singer said. "I work my legs hard, I look good and I play good music – you have to pay a lot if you want that kind of luxury.

"I charged £206 because there were four people and I was going uphill. I didn't even charge them the full amount – it should have been £412."

Mr Long, a licensed cabbie for 16 years, said he would have charged about £7 for the journey.

The pedicab driver said it was obvious taxis would be cheaper because "the engine does everything".

The astonishing footage shows the rickshaw driver being challenged by passing police officers, who accuse him of "extorting" cash from the passengers.

But Mr Dzjabovic insists the bill is backed up by his price list and refuses to back down.

Mr Long had to cut his film short when passengers got in to his taxi, and he did not capture the end of the argument.

Mr Dzjabovic told the Mail he ended up taking just £40 for the trip - less than 20 per cent of what he claimed he was owed.

He called his practices "good business".

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: "The mayor has serious concerns about the pedicab trade and is lobbying the government for new legislation that would give Transport for London powers to regulate them, powers they don't legally possess at the moment.

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"This video only adds weight to his determination to make that happen. It is shocking and utterly disgraceful that pedicab drivers appear to be taking advantage of customers in this way."

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