Let’s be honest for a minute. When you get into a taxi or private hire vehicle, you are putting your safety into the hands of someone you probably don’t know.
Most of us don’t think twice about it. We book a car, get in, give the driver our destination and expect to arrive safely. And for millions of journeys, that is exactly what happens.
But what happens when something goes wrong?
What happens when a passenger is robbed, threatened, assaulted or attacked? What happens when somebody is taken somewhere they didn’t ask to go? Or when there is a serious accident and it turns out the person behind the wheel shouldn’t have been carrying passengers in the first place?
That’s when people understandably start asking questions.
Why didn’t the police stop them? Why didn’t the council know? How were they allowed to operate?
There are systems designed to protect passengers: driver licensing, vehicle inspections, criminal-record checks, safeguarding requirements, insurance requirements and enforcement.
But there is another side to the conversation that doesn’t get talked about enough.
“He’s Just My Mate”
Imagine police or licensing officers stop a vehicle because they suspect somebody is carrying passengers illegally.
The passengers are questioned and everybody says:
“He’s just our mate.”
“He’s giving us a lift.”
“We’re not paying him.”
If the passengers are actually paying for the journey but tell officers otherwise, they may make enforcement much more difficult.
Now imagine that same vehicle is later involved in a serious accident and somebody is badly injured. It then turns out the driver wasn’t appropriately licensed for the work, the vehicle wasn’t properly licensed or the correct insurance wasn’t in place.
Suddenly everybody wants to know why nobody stopped it.
This is not about blaming victims. If somebody is assaulted, robbed, attacked or harmed, responsibility lies with the person who committed that crime. Passenger awareness is about prevention, not blame.
What Are You Actually Paying For?
People often complain about the cost of taxis.
“It’s only a short journey.”
“My mate will do it cheaper.”
“There’s someone outside offering lifts for half the price.”
But you aren’t simply paying for a car to take you from A to B. With a legitimate licensed service, you are also paying into a regulated system.
Depending on the service and local licensing requirements, that can include:
- Driver and criminal-record checks
- Vehicle licensing and inspections
- Appropriate insurance
- Safeguarding and compliance requirements
- Operator licensing
- Accountability if something goes wrong
All of that costs money.
That doesn’t mean expensive automatically means safe or cheap automatically means dangerous. But if somebody is dramatically cheaper because they are avoiding the requirements legitimate drivers and operators have to meet, passengers should understand what they may be giving up for that saving.
Check Who Has Actually Arrived
Booking apps have made private hire incredibly convenient. You may be shown a driver’s name, photograph, vehicle and registration number before they arrive.
But do you actually check them?
When the vehicle arrives, take a few seconds.
Does the registration match? Does the vehicle match? Does the driver match the photograph or information you've been given?
There have also been concerns and allegations around account sharing or so-called driver account “renting” within parts of the app-based private hire industry. Specific allegations should not be treated as fact without reliable evidence, but the potential safety issue is obvious.
If an app tells you one person is collecting you and somebody completely different is sitting behind the wheel, question it.
The same applies if the registration or vehicle doesn’t match.
Don’t simply think, “It’ll probably be alright.”
“It’s Only Five Minutes”
A short journey doesn’t remove the risk.
A serious collision can happen seconds after leaving. An uncomfortable situation can become dangerous quickly. If something does happen, knowing who was driving, whether the vehicle was properly licensed and whether the correct insurance was in place can suddenly become extremely important.
Licensing cannot guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen. No system can.
What it can provide is a framework of checks, standards, records and accountability designed to reduce risk and help establish what happened when something goes wrong.
Passengers Have a Role Too
Councils, police, operators, booking platforms and drivers all have responsibilities when it comes to passenger safety.
Passengers can help too.
Before getting into a vehicle:
- Check the registration.
- Check the driver against the information provided.
- Check licensing identification where appropriate.
- Book through legitimate channels.
- Don’t knowingly give false information to enforcement officers.
- If something genuinely doesn’t feel right, don’t get in.
These checks take seconds.
If you are getting into a stranger’s vehicle at two o’clock in the morning, perhaps alone, tired or after drinking, wanting to know exactly who is driving you isn’t unreasonable.
It’s sensible.
Cheap Isn’t Always Cheap
We all want cheaper transport, cheaper food, cheaper hotels and cheaper everything.
But safety isn’t free.
Licensing isn’t free. Insurance isn’t free. Vehicle inspections aren’t free. Safeguarding isn’t free. Compliance and enforcement aren’t free.
So the next time somebody says, “It’s only a taxi,” remember what you are actually doing.
You are getting into a vehicle with someone you probably don’t know and trusting them to get you safely to your destination.
Before you get in:
Look. Check. Ask.
Make sure the vehicle is the one you are expecting. Make sure the driver is the person you are expecting. And if something genuinely doesn’t feel right, walk away and arrange another legitimate journey.
Saving a few pounds isn’t worth knowingly taking an unnecessary risk with your safety.
This is Taxi Talk.
Cheap isn’t always cheap. Sometimes the real price doesn’t become apparent until something goes wrong.
