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Safety Advice
Imagine this: It's 3am and you've been on a night out in London. You desperately want to get home, but you're all alone. You are struggling to find transportation to get home when you find a minicab parked at the side of the road willing to take you home. You jump in grateful that you found someone to take you home. Have you ever thought about the consequences of taking this illegal, unlicensed and potentially dangerous minicab?
- On average just over 2 sexual offences, as a result of unlicensed minicabs, are reported to police every week.
- Many people are taken to secluded places and then robbed of their possessions.
- If the unlicensed cab was involved in an accident the minicab would be uninsured.
- Unlicensed minicabs have been known to overcharge people or quote a higher price once they have reached the destination. Some victims have even reported their driver locking their doors unless they paid the heavily inflated price.
Safer Minicabs has been created to protect you from these potential crimes. The app will allow your journey to be tracked, and feel secure with an inbuilt panic alarm function, and full access to both driver and vehicle details.
So next time you're in London wanting to get home: Think Safe, Think Safer Minicabs. To benefit from these additional security features and more download our free app today.
How to stay safe in Taxi Minicabs
- Know the difference between a black cab and a minicab.
- Taxis may all look the same when you've had a few glasses of wine, but there are some very important differences. In fact the only types of taxis that are legally allowed to stop when hailed in the street are black cabs.
- All legitimate black cabs are licensed by the local authorities (or in London by the police) and have a white licence plate on the boot and a smaller one inside. Other taxis are called minicabs.
- Outside London all legitimate minicabs are now licensed with local authorities. In London, all minicabs are licensed with Transport for London. If you want to check that the minicab firm you use is licensed you should check with your local council.
- Beware taxi touts.
- In addition to black cabs and minicabs there are an increasing number of 'taxi touts' operating around Britain, particularly late at night. These are unregistered, untraceable drivers who attempt to pick up fares in busy areas, often offering cheaper fares than registered vehicles.
- The police warn that these cabs are being used by some criminals to target vulnerable women and should always be avoided. 'When people get into these cabs they are effectively getting into a stranger's car which is untraceable,' says a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police.
- We know that some men are deliberately using these cabs to target and then sexually abuse women. If this happens there is often no way of tracing the offender as they are not registered taxi drivers, may have borrowed the car for the night or even changed the number plates. Women particularly should never get into these cabs.
- If using a minicab always pre-book it.
- Although legitimate minicabs are now licensed they are only legally allowed to carry passengers who book them in advance. If you intend to take a minicab, take the phone number of a reputable firm you know and trust when you go out for the night.
- If you don't know the number of a reputable firm ask a friend for the number of a firm they trust, or approach the Community Safety Officer at your local police station for a number.
- Be cautious if you are ordering a cab in a public place.
- Always remember if you are calling a cab from a public place to make sure that you can not be overheard by strangers as this could give away your address. To be extra secure, when you are ordering a cab to pick you up from a public place do not give your full name and full address - just in case someone can hear you.
- Don't get into an ordered cab until you're sure it's yours.
- After a night it's tempting to jump into your taxi as soon it arrives. But police warn that it's easy to get into the wrong cab, even if you take care to order one in advance.
- Ideally, when you phone for a cab, ask what kind of car is coming to pick you up and the driver's name. When the taxi arrives, before you get into it make sure you ask the driver the name of the customer he or she is there to pick up - rather than giving them your name - and the name of the company they work for. That way you can be sure you are safe and in the right cab.
- Trust your instincts.
- It's a cliche, but if you don't feel comfortable with the taxi that arrives for you or stops for you then trust your instincts and take another cab.
- Always sit in the back.
- Safety experts advise women to sit in the back of cabs, rather than in the front seat, as this keeps you at a safe distance from the driver should there be any problems. You will also have two doors to leave the cab from in an emergency rather than one.
- Keep conversation on a professional level.
- Cab drivers are famous for their tall tales, but the general advice from police to women is to keep conversation with your taxi driver to a strictly professional basis.
- The last thing you want is for the taxi driver to get the impression that you want them to be over familiar, says a spokesman from the Metropolitan Police. 'Try to keep the conversation polite but professional and about every day matters rather than personal things.'
- Have your keys ready.
- When you reach your destination always have your keys ready to get into your house or flat before you get out of the cab. This way you will not be left hanging around in the dark and vulnerable. If you feel safe and trust your driver, you may want to ask him not to leave until he sees you enter your home.
- And finally...
- Report any problems. If there is a problem with your taxi you should always report the problem to the police - you may help protect future passengers. If you are going to report a problem, try to remember what kind of car it was, the driver's name and registration number and when and where you were travelling.