Seasonal party and fun seekers of festive season are urged to stay safe this Christmas and New Year when making their way home from their entertaining festive nights out and are urged to only use officially fully licensed taxis or private hire vehicles reserved or booked through a licensed operator.
It’s that time of year just around the corner where we all start to relax and enjoy the festive season with our friends, family and loved ones. However, in all this never forget about the safety aspect of protecting and staying safe. Often at this time of year various councils across the country receives numerous reports of deceiving and fraudulently unlicensed vehicles pretending and claiming to be legitimate taxi and private hire services.
The council is therefore urging passengers to always look for the official licence plate on the back of a vehicle before getting inside. A licensed driver will also wear and display an identity badge with their licence number, photograph, and logo of perspective council (throughout the borough) as well as clearly displaying an identification card inside the vehicle with the same information.
Statistically depending where in the country, you are just because the figures highlight spikes in different areas of the country doesn’t mean that you can be the next unfortunate victim due to a failure to take a duty of care of your personal safety and of the people who are with you.
Below is abstract information of different trends in cases from West Yorkshire, Dyfed Powys in Wales compared to London over the last 2-year period (festive season). Please note that the low number of cases involving Uber in West Yorkshire and Dyfed Powys is due to limited number operating and restrictions in areas.
West Yorkshire
Please see the table below: West Yorkshire Statistics
| Offence | All crimes | UBER employee | ||
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | |
| 17A Sexual assault on a male aged 13 and over | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17B Sexual assault on a male child under 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20A Sexual assault on a female aged 13 and over | 19 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 20B Sexual assault on a female child under 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19A Rape of a female (no longer in use) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19D Rape of a female child under 16 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 19J Rape of a female – multiple undefined offenders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19C Rape of a female aged 16 and over | 23 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| 19G Rape of a male child under 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19K Rape of a male – multiple undefined offenders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19F Rape of a male aged 16 and over | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 19E Rape of a female child under 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19H Rape of a male child under 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sourced of information: https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/sites/default/files/foi/2020-12/december_2020_foi_6594-20_rape_taxi_drivers.pdf
FOI Reference: 724/2020
Request:
In each of the last two financial years (i) 2018-19 and (ii) 2019-20 how many allegations of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault did you investigate where you had a suspect who was said to be a “taxi driver”, and in how many of those cases was the taxi driver working for Uber?
Please note that I envisage a response that for each financial year will give the total number of (a) rapes and (b) sexual assaults where the suspect was a “taxi driver” as well as how many in both categories were Uber drivers.
By “taxi driver” I mean any licenced or non-licenced taxi or private hire driver.
Response:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, the details of which are as follows:
| Taxi drivers | Financial Year | |
| Offence | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
| Rape | 0 | 1 |
| Sexual Assault | 2 | 2 |
| Uber drivers | Financial Year | |
| Offence | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
| Rape | 0 | 0 |
| Sexual Assault | 0 | 0 |
Source of information: https://www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/dyfed-powys/disclosure-2020/december/final-response-doc-724.20.pdf
‘Sexual offence claims against London taxi and minicab drivers rise by 81 per cent in a year’
The number of alleged sexual offences committed by minicab and black cab drivers in London has increased by more than 80 per cent in a year.
A total of 294 incidents, including 25 alleged rapes, were reported to police in 2018, Transport for London said.
Some 17 drivers were charged with 21 offences, but only five were convicted.
Today’s figures are an increase of 81 per cent on 2017, when 162 offences were reported, including 34 rapes.
TfL said the rise in allegations was a result of minicab firms being required since the end of 2017 to report all allegations to police in an “appropriate and timely way”.
There are more than 109,000 licensed private hire (minicab) drivers in London and 22,000 licensed black cab drivers.
Source of information: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/sexual-offence-claims-taxi-drivers-london-a4350171.html
Licensed taxis can only be hired from a rank or by hailing, while private hire vehicles must be booked through a licensed operator.
Cllr Martin Smith, Chairman of the council’s Licensing Committee at Scarborough County Council said:
“Although we want everyone to enjoy themselves this Christmas, it is vitally important that people remain safe when on a night out. Always ensure that you are using a licensed vehicle driven by a licensed driver and follow our top safety tips.”
Thus, also Mandy McGregor, head of transport policing for Transport for London (Tfl), said: “We would urge anyone who experiences any criminal act to report it immediately to TfL and the police so it can be taken seriously and investigated.”
In short take care over the crazy season and enjoy and follow the following for your safety:
The council’s top safety tips are:
- Always plan how you are going to get home after a night out
- Keep your mobile phone at hand
- When you get to your destination ask the driver to wait until you get inside
- If you feel unsafe ask to be dropped off in a well-lit area where there are plenty of people
- Ask how much the journey will cost and make sure you have enough money to pay the fare
Sandra Rees of Scarborough Council who is the council’s Safeguarding officer said:
“All licensed drivers and vehicles are required to meet a number of stringent checks; these include criminal record checks for drivers and regular testing of the vehicles. If you have any doubt about a driver or a vehicle do not get into the vehicle. Report it to the council by calling the appropriate contact number or emailing licensing services”.
To travel in safety over our up-and-coming festive holiday season and for that peace of mind use the services to travel not only in style but in safe hand as well with Vert, the first all-electric fleet in Essex. I have personally used their services on many occasions for myself and for my family and it’s always been an impeccable professional chauffeuring service, secured, safe and above all else it’s a dedicated firm that prides on safety for all, whether it be for the clients or even for the community in which they operate.
So, enjoy, have fun, be safe and use Vert for the experience without any concerns and only think about the festive season, your entertainment, the party and were to go for the next celebration.
Have Fun but PLEASE stay safe
