Taxi Driver Online

This could be in one of several previous threads, although there's a few different, er, threads here in this shortish BBC piece.

Nothing particularly new in the national context, but it's the kind of thing I'm particularly interested in view of our rank chaos stuff, and the stuff relating to the takeaway at the other side of the street


Union warns of student fears over taxi safety

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mwwm919gpo

A students union said it welcomed the idea of improved safety measures in taxis, as a consultation on new licensing rules continued.

Norwich City Council is looking at additional measures including the possibility of compulsory CCTV cameras in cars and more criminal record checks for drivers.

A survey by the University of East Anglia Students Union (UEASU) found 24% of those taking part said they felt "somewhat unsafe" or "very unsafe" using cabs in Norwich after dark.

Craig Dimbleby, chairman of the Norwich Black Cabs Association, said he supported the idea of new licensing rules, adding passenger safety was "paramount".

Nathan Wyatt, UEASU welfare officer, said the case of a minicab driver who sexually assaulted three women last year was still fresh in students' minds.

"There was a really horrible incident in Norwich and that scared a lot of people," he said.

Mr Wyatt, who revealed 73 students completed its survey, believed local taxis were "regulated quite well, but equally I think there are safety measures that could be put in place to protect students and the drivers".

Alexandra Ashby said whenever she got into a cab she was "vigilant and aware of a possible threat".

The 23-year-old student said she had never experienced "anything horrific" in a taxi but remained cautious when using them.

"If there are things like extra training, more background checks and there's camera footage evidence – this is going to make me and lots of other women feel more comfortable," she said.

Mr Dimbleby said his association had been calling for stricter licensing rules for some time, and said safety was "paramount".

"There's no-one more important than the public," he said.

The Magdalene Group, which campaigns against sexual violence, said it was already working with some minicab firms in Norwich to provide "bystander training".

The charity's chief executive officer, Suzi Heybourne, said the training would help drivers to feel "more equipped" to step in, if they saw a woman being harassed.

"The more people that are aware of how to be active bystanders and break down any kind of harassment, is a positive thing for women's safety," said Ms Heybourne.

Norwich City Council said its consultation on licencing rules would continue until 16 March.

Matthew Packer, the council's cabinet member for regulatory services, added: "The consultation aims to bring existing regulations up to date with latest guidance from the Department for Transport."

Next she'll be calling for stricter vetting of passengers. And training them not to be head-the-balls


I know who I regard as the biggest bystanders in our wee town, and it ain't the trade

Red flags aplenty, in my view, but of course stuff like lax licensing rules, lack of enforcement and light-touch policing means officialdom only seems to bother when something big happens and they then ride to the rescue - the very essence of bystandering

easy way for student union reps to appear to be doing something.

well if they want higher standards of vetting which of course costs more money then I'm sure they'll welcome a nice rise in prices to pay for it !

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I get the CCTV, which will surprise no one on here, but what extra criminal checks could the council undertake?

The current checks check everything since the year dot and also include a check from the local police about stuff that has led to no convictions. The issue is, as we all know, what a council will do with that information.

So in fact what Norwich City Council should be looking at is the f***ing mirror.

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IDFIMH

Maybe the Norwich spiking article should have just been added to this thread

And, of course, the more recent PR/advertorial piece didn't mention the fact that the above perp was a Veezu driver in its previous branding

On the other hand, there's an overlap with the more recent piece in terms of 'bystander' training and the like