Taxi Driver Online

Apart from the two other recent threads, there's a third recent incident mentioned in the article below.


Bolton taxi drivers call for CCTV after spate of attacks

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19 ... e-attacks/

TAXI drivers are growing more worried over the number of attacks they are facing behind the wheel and are calling for more action to be taken to protect them.

On Thursday, April 8 at around 8.30pm, a taxi was being driven on Marsey Road in Breightmet when a passenger assaulted him, leading the vehicle to crash into a tree.

Two men then stole cash before leaving the taxi driver, who was taken to hospital.

Then, in the early hours of Saturday, April 10 at around 3.30am on Bar Lane in Astley Bridge, a driver was strangled by a man before two others arrived and the victim was punched in the face and kicked in the ribs.

And at the junction of Colchester Avenue and Lydgate Avenue in Breightmet at around 1.20pm on April 2, a motorbike pulled up to a taxi and the rider smashed a window with a baseball bat.

The Bolton Private Hire Association say they have asked the council for CCTV to be fitted in their vehicles for years to protect themselves as well as passengers.

A spokesman said: "We have been asking the council for CCTV to be put in our vehicles for quite a long time.

"A lot of the time when we have reported incidents we have been told there is not enough evidence.

"We are like sitting ducks and it feels like nothing is being done. These attacks are happening more and more.

"The CCTV would not only make drivers safe, it would make passengers feel safe and help the police with cases.

"At the end of the day we are doing a job and getting people from A to B.

"It is terrible and frightening for someone to have go through what these drivers have been through.

"We often get children throwing bricks and stones at us as well."

Metro Cars owner Nick Astley has also condemned the recent attacks.

He said: "I have been in this business for 38 years and was a driver for a long time and I cannot remember it being as bad as it is at the moment.

"There have always been incidents but nothing as vicious as these. It does seem to be getting worse.

"Unfortunately services are stretched and you do get people taking advantage of that. This issue does need to be looked at as someone is going to be seriously hurt or worse.

"Taxi drivers work very hard and do not deserve to be treated like this. It is very distressing and upsetting.

"Even with people throwing stones the consequences can be horrific if they go through the windows."

In response to the call for CCTV to be fitted in taxis, a Bolton Council spokesman said: "Bolton Council is working with Transport for Greater Manchester and the other boroughs in the city region to agree minimum licensing standards for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.

“Plans were put to public consultation last year, among the suggestions was that all vehicles be fitted with CCTV.

“These would be funded by individual licence holders.”

It's one of these articles about CCTV that appear occasionally, but it's not 100% clear what's been said. Does the call from the trade mean CCTV is currently banned, or it is allowed, but the trade wants the council to fund it?

But the final couple of paragraphs suggest the proposal is to make it compulsory, but it'll be funded by the trade.

But whether drivers can currently fit CCTV isn't clear.

There's a few dozen comments on the website, which are kind of interesting in themselves. Half of them are about racial issues, and the trade isn't mentioned at all.

There's approximately zero mention of the attacks.

A few members of the public do pick up on my earlier point, though, for example:

I would be surprised, and a tad upset, if the council didn't allow CCTV.

If they do allow it then their is nothing stopping drivers buying a system themselves.

If you have the right insurance company, one that gives a CCTV discount, then it can be self funding.

I think it should be compulsory, but I also think councils shouldn't really be funding it. If they do however, so be it.

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IDFIMH

Taxi drivers warn Bolton yobs to stop vandalism 'before someone dies'

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19 ... eone-dies/



CABBIES in Bolton have warned that someone could die if vandalism from yobs doesn’t stop hurling missiles at taxis.

Children as young as 10 have been throwing eggs, stones and bricks at drivers from Metro Taxis in Bolton, while they have been driving.

This has resulted in smashed windows, and damaged vehicles that has cost them a huge amount of money to repair.

Drivers at the taxi firm say this has been ongoing for a few years, but has continued to get worse.

They say they are experiencing this every week at the moment, and feel their concerns are ‘falling on deaf ears’.

Nick Astley, owner of Bolton-based Metro Taxis, said: “It’s not just about making people aware about the issue, it’s about making sure people are safe.

“These kids think it’s a bit of a game, but someone is going to get killed.

“When someone dies, and they will die, it’s only a matter of time, what will happen then?”

Drivers were also equally concerned about the risk for passengers using the service.

Yasif Khan, chairman of the private hire association in Bolton, added: “It’s got to a point where we’re going to have to stop working for a few days and go on strike if this doesn’t improve.

“We don’t want to do this, but we have to do something. It shouldn’t have to get to that point.”

Bosses at the taxi firm say there was already an issue with staff shortages and this could make the situation worse.

Mr Astley said they have had meetings with the council and police, but don’t feel as though they are being listened to.

He added: “We are really upset and annoyed. We want our voices to be heard.”

Vice chair of the private hire association, Mahmood Akhtar, explained how important it was to raise this issue with the local schools, and the parents of the children.

Mr Akhtar said: “Kids are targeting us after school, so it’s important that schools and parents are involved in this.

“This is our last resort now because we have had enough.”

Mr Khan added: “There will also be parents getting taxis to appointments and to go to work, so if we went on strike this would also affect them.

“We don’t want to cause problems, we just want help.”








Images: The Bolton News

Nothing particularly new here (so just the headline and link below) except for the fact that a 'crackdown' has been announced. Which basically means police *might* start to do something about things they've been turning a blind eye to. Maybe if they hadn't turned a blind eye in the first place...

Anyway, it's the same photos in the article as those above (which may well be in other threads about Bolton), and the predictable comms cliches about 'working' with 'partners', people having the right to 'feel safe', and that misbehaviour 'won't be tolerated' etc.

Of course, the bigger question still is whether it's all just a PR offensive, or whether something will actually be done.

I suspect there will be a bit of police activity, then they'll disappear again, and it'll be back to normal. Until the next 'crackdown' or 'clampdown', that is


Bolton: Operation Clamp tackling violence against taxi drivers launched

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/20 ... -launched/

A crackdown on violence against taxi drivers is one of several police operations being rolled out this summer to tackle anti-social behaviour across Bolton.