"PRE-BOOK YOUR TAXI HOME THIS NEW YEARS & AVOID UNLICENSED DRIVERS” says councillor
Updated: Dec 28, 2021
Renfrewshire Council have issued a statement advising New Years Eve party-goers to try and pre-book a taxi to ensure they get home safely.
Unlicensed taxi numbers tend to rise over the holiday period as chancers attempt to make a “quick buck”. Using unlicensed taxis or private hire vehicles can be extremely dangerous because they do not have the correct insurance to carry paying customers.
Using unlicensed cars can also lead to more serious dangers such as kidnapping, sexual assaults and robberies.
Renfrewshire Council have said: "Please consider pre-booking your taxis to and from your night out and ensure that you only use licensed taxis or private hire vehicles to get home safely.
"Only vehicles that have a Renfrewshire Council taxi or private hire plate on the front and rear of the vehicle should be used and the driver should be displaying a badge within the vehicle, with private hire vehicles also having window stickers displaying the licence details on rear passenger windows."
Taxis for public hire in Renfrewshire are all white in colour, can be hailed in the street or pre booked, and rank at Glasgow Airport and Paisley Gilmour Street Station.
Private hire vehicles must be pre booked in advance through a private hire car company, of which there are several in Paisley, Johnstone, Linwood, Renfrew and Erskine, and cannot be hailed down in the street.
Taxi marshals will be active on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at the Paisley Gilmour Street taxi rank next to County Square to manage the queue and support people to get home safely after a festive night out.
Councillor John McNaughtan, Convener of Renfrewshire Council's Regulatory Functions Board, said: "We know that people are out and about more often over the festive period which can mean a high demand for taxis.
"We're providing taxi marshals at the Gilmour Street rank to ensure that people are safe while waiting for a taxi and the queue is managed appropriately, but if you can, pre-book your taxi home as this is the best way to ensure you get home quickly and safely over the festive period."
