Day and Night: We Love Bedford

As part of its mission to keep Bedford town centre safe during the day and night, BedfordBID is re-branding the High Street Taxi marshall scheme.
While the scheme will continue to be operated by the Borough Council, this move sees the BID becoming the main funding partner and assuming joint-responsibility in providing an important and valued service for both residents and visitors to the town.
BedfordBID,
http://www.lovebedford.co.uk/, is as an existing partner organisation in the Bed:Safe partnership, alongside Bedford Borough Council and Bedfordshire Police, and views this as a natural and logical expansion in its existing town centre management role.
Two marshalls will be on duty each Friday night, and three marshalls on Saturday night, from 11.30pm to 4.00am. Their role is to ensure that only legal and registered hackney carriages and private hire vehicles are operating within the town centre, as well as maintaining an orderly queue for the taxis throughout the night.
They will work closely with pub and club door staff, as well as the Police and CCTV team to keep the High Street safe and orderly.
This service will also be supported by the 'Am I Safe?' smartphone app, which allows any customer to check the registration details of vehicles against the Council's register of legal taxis. The app automatically sends an email to up to 3 addresses to family and friends so they know where their loved ones are at all times.
BedfordBID is the main local sponsor of 'Am I Safe' and is giving away over 600 free apps to town centre businesses to keep their staff safe when using taxis.
Kevin Kavanagh, Vice-Chair of BedfordBID said:
"The Taxi marshalls are a highly valued service in the town centre. The BID is committed to attracting new customers and visitors to the town centre, both during the day and at night, and by making people feel safe we're helping to make them feel welcome.
"The taxi scheme in conjunction with the 'Am I Safe?' smartphone app, shows that BedfordBID is working harder than ever to encourage people to use our town centre pubs and clubs during the day and at night."
Councillor Will Hunt, Chair of Licensing committee, Bedford Borough Council, added:
"This is good news. The Bedsafe Taxi marshall scheme is a vital element in providing a safer environment for people to enjoy themselves. Bedford BID are to be congratulated on this funding initiative"
http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Bedfordshire/Sandy/SG19/News/Local-News/210597-Day-and-Night:-We-Love-Bedford