Mayor Johnson, TfL and the Metropolitan Police Service have launched the latest phase of the Safer Travel at Night campaign, to raise awareness of the dangers of using illegal cabs.
The campaign launches at a time that sees an influx of university students to the Capital, many of whom are unfamiliar with London’s late night travel options. It includes outdoor poster and radio advertising and will continue with TV ads in the run up to Christmas, complementing police work which targets ‘touting hotspots’.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said, ‘If there’s one message I want to get across, it’s that women should never travel in an illegal cab – it is just not safe.
Unlicensed touts could pose a real danger, so if you don’t have the number for a licensed cab company in the area, you can use the excellent Cabwise text service wherever you are in London. To get two numbers for local licensed minicab firms and a black cab company you just need to text HOME to 60835. Simply, it is a number that all those going out in London should save on their mobiles.’
The award-winning campaign has been very successful to date, with cab-related sexual offences down 44 per cent since 2002, and the proportion of women using illegal cabs, to get home late at night, down from 19 per cent in 2003 to three per cent in 2008.
However, 104 cab-related sexual attacks were committed in 2007 and recent research shows that 48 per cent of late night travellers think that minicabs can approach passengers in the street to take them home.
Chief Superintendent Joe Royle, Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) said: ‘The dangers of taking an illegal minicab should never be underestimated. Working with our partners to raise public awareness, and continuing our dedicated anti-tout initiatives, the Metropolitan Police Service is committed to clamping down on illegal cabs. Our Cab Enforcement Unit’s dedicated anti-tout initiatives help to reduce crime while at the same time improving the safety of passengers who use cabs.’
For more information see the Cabwise website: www.tfl.gov.uk/cabwise
