Safety campaigns are not just for Christmas says Taxiwise

A record number of local authorities and police forces ran Christmas campaigns warning people about the strong link between bogus cabbies and sex attacks.

Taxiwise fully supports the phenomenal number and variety of initiatives which have been implemented during the festive season to try to reduce the number of people raped or sexually assaulted by unlicensed taxi drivers every year.

But Taxiwise – the only campaign of its kind – believes the effort should not just be made at Christmas and the message should be regularly hammered home throughout 2007 and beyond.

The organisation added that the fight would become much stronger if all the disparate groups which raise awareness about the dangers of travelling in unlicensed vehicles unite under one banner.

The need is clear.

In London alone on average 10 women a month are sexually attacked and raped by illegal minicab drivers.

There are an estimated 30,000 unlicensed cab drivers operating across the UK, and it’s thought that 5,000 women are attacked by them every year.

Christmas and New Year parties provide ample opportunity for sex attackers to pose as cabbies because they can prey on the vast numbers of party-goers who depend upon taxis for a lift home.

The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and the London Assembly lead the crusade to raise awareness about the issue during a hard-hitting campaign accompanied by an advert which read: “To find out what an illegal minicab could cost you, ask a rape victim.”

But a staggering number of local authorities and police forces launched their own schemes and campaigns to hammer home the message.

From Maidstone to Manchester and from Caerphilly to Dorset, schemes ranging from public notices through to text messaging services which flagged up the telephone numbers of reputable taxi firms and taxi rank marshals were all used to combat the menace posed by bogus cabbies.

A stark reminder of why the campaigns are necessary came just days before Christmas when a 17-year-old girl in Horsforth, Leeds, was subjected to a “terrifying attack” after she got into a vehicle falsely believing it was private hire taxi that she had booked.

The proof that raising awareness bares fruit is revealed by the Government and local authority-funded Getting Home Safely initiatives, which have been running all over the country to raise awareness and make the streets safer at night.

One example is the Safer Travel at Night campaign, run in London, which is committed to making public transport journeys safer. Since its launch in 2002, the number of attacks by unlicensed cabs has dropped from 212 to 140.

Another example is the City Centre Safe project in Manchester, which is a multi-agency scheme that includes extra night time buses, police and staff who help look after the city's nightlife lovers by making sure women get home safely.

Celeste Clarke a spokesperson for Taxiwise commented: “There is no doubt that these initiatives have achieved notable success which is precisely why a nationwide campaign which consistently rams home the message and flags up best practice all year round should be implemented and we will be working hard over the coming months to achieve this.”

To contact Taxiwise to find out more, please call 024 7622 8881 or visit taxiwise.com.

How to use a taxi or minicab safely:

Where possible hail a black cab.
Always use a registered taxi or minicab;
Carry the number of a trusted, registered taxi company with you;
Where possible, try to share the cab with a friend to the same address;
If in doubt, always check that the driver has an ID badge clearly displayed;
Agree the fare before you get into the taxi;
Book a taxi or a minicab in advance. Ask for the driver's name, as well as the make and colour of the car. Confirm the driver's details when he arrives;
Always sit in the back.
Hackney Carriages can be hailed, private hire vehicles have to be pre-booked and cannot under any circumstances ply for hire.
There is no national standard for the licensing of Hackney Carriages and private hire vehicles, and each of the 440 local authorities in the UK operates different systems.