When I saw the photo I assumed it was a group of women starting in the trade, or volunteering to do a few night shifts to safeguard those 'women and girls'.
Oh, wait, they're actually moaning about the men doing the actual driving - who'd have expected that?
To be fair, maybe they have a point. But either they or the council must be talking $hit - according to the women, there are driver-ID badge mismatches everywhere, while according to the council it's all taken very, very, seriously, and safety is paramount. Or something like that
Alert on danger of ‘false’ taxi drivers in Hereford
https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/2568 ... i-drivers/
Image: Rob Davies/Hereford Times
Women and girls taking a taxi at night risk getting in with a driver who doesn’t match the licence on display – and not enough is being done to clamp down on the problem, a Hereford woman has claimed.
Lin Mathias, a mature student at the city’s art college, said a friend recently looking to take a night-time taxi home found that in three taxis in a row the actual driver didn’t match that in the mandatory photo ID displayed in the car.
“One driver I talked to said he hadn’t been checked on this in five years,” she said.
Taking her concerns to Herefordshire Council, which authorises and enforces taxi and driver accreditation in the county, Ms Mathias told Cabinet member for roads and regulatory services Barry Durkin the safety of women and children “cannot be secured” unless it enforces its own taxi licensing policy.
Green councillor Helen Heathfield also asked how recently and how often checks on drivers’ IDs are carried out, adding: “Please consider on-street spot checks of our taxi drivers.”
Coun Durkin replied that this winter, “we are planning joint patrols and targeted licensing activity to strengthen visibility and assurance”.
“We take robust steps to ensure that only safe vehicles and fit and proper drivers operate within the county,” he said.
“Any report that a driver or vehicle may be using incorrect or mismatched identification is treated as a safeguarding concern and investigated immediately,” Coun Durkin said, adding this is “extremely rare”.
He added there was an issue of education regarding the driver IDs, which “the public should be aware of”.
“I will undertake to look at how we educate the public as to keeping them safe,” he said.
Graham Wood of the Hereford Taxi Association said his group “have a deep passion to address any risk issues and any wrongdoing amongst taxi drivers”.
But he added: “It’s good to know customers out there are checking these things, which we would always promote.”
West Mercia Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre chief executive Jocelyn Anderson said she had been made aware of this issue in Herefordshire.
“Concerns about taxi drivers not matching their identification are serious, undermining trust and reinforcing women’s fear when travelling, particularly at night,” she said.
“Women’s safety should not depend on individual vigilance, but on systems that prevent harm.”
