68 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY IN THE NEWS
A youth organisation is campaigning
CAMPAIGN FOR FEMALE-ONLY TAXI RANKS for
female-only taxi ranks to be introduced in Scotland’s
biggest
cities. Separate ranks for young girls return- ing from nights out could be established as a result of a campaign by the Girl Guides. Girlguiding Scotland is asking local authorities to introduce the ranks after research showed that girls under 18 are intimidated by having to mix with rowdy, drunken adults while making their way home. The group is also dis- cussing the proposals with police forces, wants
marshalled
points set up in Glas- gow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, all of which have nightclubs for young teenagers. “Girls feel that if there was a separate queue where they would get priority if they were under 18 by showing their ID then that would
make them feel safer when they are out late at night,” Margaret Winter, Girlguiding Scotland’s county commissioner for Edinburgh, told the Sunday Times. “It would be targeted at groups of girls on their own. It would have to be situated away from the conventional taxi ranks as it could cause upset to see the girls getting priority. We think it would work in the bigger cities. “Bus services only run until certain times and can be very difficult for girls, especially those who live in rural areas, to get home. This would prevent
them taking
risks such as accepting lifts from somebody they don’t know.” The proposals form part of a report pro- duced by Girlguiding UK entitled “Girls Shout Out”, which included a poll of about 1,000 Girl Guides. A quarter of girls in the survey said
they had been unable to get home after a night out and one in six said they had taken a lift from somebody who was under the influence of alcohol. Girlguiding Scotland has about 60,000 mem- bers, and its supports include the author JK Rowling, and the televi- sion presenters Kirsty Wark and Lorraine Kelly. Ann Elledge, a director of the charity The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said: “As girls grow up they need to learn how to stay safe. It is neces- sary for them to take acceptable risks once they are equipped with the appropriate infor- mation and skills to assess and deal with such risks.” One councillor said: “It’s an interesting con- cept. Whether we have the logistics to do that, I don’t know. The taxi ranks have been revamped to get people out of the city as quick-
DESPAIR IN
ly as possible. It seems strange they are talking about girls under 18 coming home late at night because if they are clubbing,
they
shouldn’t be.” Mmmm... Excuse me, but the press coverage makes it clear that most of these girls are want- ing to be taken home fromalcohol-free under- 18 discos. That is still “clubbing”, but surely those girls are totally entitled to get home safely. In any event, it is being documented all over the UK that there are insufficient
spaces for all the taxis in most towns and cities; perhaps pushing for young
female-only
ranks is unrealistic. Also, several other councillors expressed concern about a sepa- rate rank for girls under 18 is that
it could
become a target for trouble. Certainly it is a discussion point for all concerned.
MAIDENHEAD CAUSED BY FREE-FOR-ALL SYSTEM
Cabbies inMaidenhead say the Royal Bor- ough’s new free-for-all fares systemis destroy- ing their livelihood. Drivers insist the new system, launched on January 14, is hurting trade and created a daily fight for fares atMaiden- head Railway Station. Alterations
include rank
changing the Royal Bor- ough into a single-zone system, allowing drivers fromWindsor, Ascot and Maidenhead to pick up customers from wherev- er they like in the area. A petition protesting at the changes made will be given to the town hall by disgruntled hackney carriage licensees. Mohammed Munir, of Barn Close, has been a taxi driver in Maiden- head for 19 years. “Making it
into one
zone is a nightmare for us and we need more spaces at the station,”
he told the Maidenhead Advertiser. “It is ruining our lives.” He added that 13 new taxi driving licences due to be granted by the
council will
increase the problem. Father-of-one Mazar Razaq, 25, said: “There is no business, it is ridiculous. Imay as well go home.” Cllr Phillip Bicknell, Royal Borough cabinet member for public pro- tection, said: “It has proved beneficial
to
most of the borough’s taxi drivers and, more importantly to residents - who now have more taxis at their disposal. “We are currently in discussion with drivers and the owners of Maidenhead train sta- tion about the situation and hope we can agree on improvements to the taxi ranks in the coming weeks.”
FLEETINSURANCE from insure TAXI • personal visits
• dedicated fleet manager assigned to each case with
mobile number to ensure you get straight through to them
• great selection of Insurers • monthly instalments
SEE US ON STAND 24
• pro-active claims management service
• plated replacement vehicles
TEL0800 988 7281
WWW.INSURETAXI.COM
MAY 2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
