I have not taken a taxi in London in years. They are pretty expensive. But a delayed flight and a series of meetings forced me to take the good old London Cab rather than the good old London Tube.

After having paid the driver, I asked for the receipt, collected that and shoved it in my pocket as I rushed into the building for a security check for the next meeting. Later, in the hotel, I took out the crumpled receipt and saw, to my surprise in bold capital red letters:

WARNING

And below that, in black letters:

Every year in London there are 100’s of rapes and
sexual assaults and 1000’s of robberies
committed by unlicensed minicab drivers.

Then in red again, this time not in bold capital letters:

Don’t become a victim
only use a traditional licensed taxi

And again in bold capital (but smaller font size) red letters:

REMEMBER NO TAXI SIGN MEANS IT’S NOT A TAXI.

The Taxi was written in the logo that adorns the black taxi cabs of London.

The honest truth by Ajit Dayal

Check out TheAndersonshelter’s campaing  against Blacked out windows in minicabs.

Last year in London 140 people were sexually assaulted in illegal minicabs. The Metropolitan Police Service and other agencies are working to eradicate the problem of illegal minicabs, but there are still some out there.

So, when you are out and about you should follow this advice:

• Always try to pre book a car/Taxi through a licensed firm.
• Make sure the car/Taxi you get into is actually the car/Taxi you ordered.
• Know the car/Taxi details and check the driver knows the name it was booked under.
• Sit in the rear of the car and carry a mobile phone or shriek alarm.
• You won’t need the shriek alarm in the back of a licensed Taxi.
• Know the difference between Minicabs and Taxis.
• Taxis always have a Taxi sign on the roof and they are distinctive in their shape, not always black in colour.
• Minicabs are ordinary cars with no taxi signs on.

Transport for London provides two ways of finding licensed cab operators near you.

First call a licensed Taxi

DAC on 020 7253 5000

Radio Taxis on 020 7272 0272

Com Cab on 020 7908 0207

Or simply hail one from the street.

Be Safe Be Sure Always Use A Licensed  London Taxi.

These are the type of Taxis you should always use.

Mercedes benz Vito Taxi TX Asquith TaxiThe Fairway The Metrocab

I hope this helps you all be safe out there. Be lucky, Steve.