Taxi Driver Online

Man spat in face of taxi operator after being told he'd have to wait for cab

https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/194 ... -wait-cab/

TAXI passengers are being urged to be patient following awful incidents of abuse towards drivers and operators.

Members of the public should show extra consideration for local taxi drivers, who have been under intense pressure since the start of the pandemic, St Helens Borough Council says.

Nationally, drive numbers are down by around 25 per cent since the beginning of 2020 and taxi firms are struggling to keep up with demand.

Operators are confident that they can manage the requests for taxis but are unable to provide vehicles as quickly as they could pre-Covid-19, and average wait times are longer than normal.

There have been some incidents of abuse towards taxi drivers and operators in recent months, both in person and on social media, and one incident involved a man spitting in the face of an operator when he was told he couldn’t get a cab straight away.

Cllr Jeanie Bell, St Helens Council’s cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said: “Taxi drivers in St Helens have had to endure an extremely tough time during the last twelve months but the abuse they have received from some customers recently is terrible.

“Despite the considerable pressures they have been facing, our licensed operators have continued to provide an invaluable service to the local community, often to vulnerable residents who urgently rely on the service they provide at this time.

“It is important that drivers can keep their cabs Covid safe at this time as it protects both themselves and their customers and we would ask people using taxis in the borough to respect this and support the very important work they are doing.

“Our licensed drivers are doing their job in very difficult and challenging conditions at present and the hostility they have encountered with some customers is making their job even harder.

“Driver numbers have already fallen because of the impact of Coronavirus and we do not want to increase this problem further because of these incidents.”

To help drivers stay safe in their taxis during the pandemic, St Helens Council has distributed 10,000 free face masks and hand gels, which can be offered to customers who have forgotten their own safety measures.