Would you back a No-Ride list?

It’s not news to anyone in the taxi and private hire (PH) trade that drivers and operators regularly face abuse from passengers and the public. 

On New Year's Eve, taxi companies in Darwen went on strike following an attack that left a driver hospitalised. In the past few months, several taxi drivers have been stabbed, with a Bolt driver being killed in Tottenham.  

The nature of a drivers work means they are put into situations where they’re meeting strangers, on their own. This can mean they’re putting themselves into potentially dangerous situations. But unfortunately, outside the industry, the vulnerability of drivers is something that is rarely discussed.  
In the safeguarding training run by TaxiPlus, we are regularly asked by drivers what they can do to protect themselves. While drivers and licensing authorities are required to pay attention to passenger safeguarding, there is very little protection for the drivers themselves. 

A No-Ride List 

 In a recent interview with TaxiPoint magazine, Steve Garelick, Regional Organiser for the GMB Union, called for the introduction of a ‘No-Ride’ list. Garelick said: 

“Recently I made a call for a no-ride list for problem or risky passengers.” 

“We are all accustomed to seeing the signage ‘We Will Not Tolerate Abuse Towards Our Staff’ in hospitals, doctor’s surgeries and retailers, amongst other locations, so why is it that some individuals believe they can act with impunity towards those providing their personal transportation? 

“Over many years I have witnessed the outcomes and theft, including bilking (non- payment), of assault, murder and bullying from controllers and operators.” 

“As a resolution to some of the above I am proposing a register is created to warn and advise drivers and operators of individuals who may pose a risk to drivers.” 
 
“Such a list would be available to drivers and operators. Just as the insurance industry holds a database of drivers to compare claims and driving history, I believe this is quite a reasonable notion. 

“For years the police and courts have often done little to assist drivers who have found themselves victims of the issues discussed here” 

You can read the full interview here.  

How a register like this would work in practice remains to be seen.  

There are several pieces of legislation that would need to be addressed before a working No-Ride list could be introduced. New legislation may even need to be introduced to allow such a thing to work. 

But on the face of it, the idea of a No-Ride list would be a great tool for the industry. Any tool that can improve the safeguarding of drivers trying to earn a living can only be a good thing.  

Ride-sharing Apps 

 The rating systems used by Uber and other ride-sharing apps means that they do have a no-ride list incorporated into their service. If a user gets repeated low ratings from drivers, then they can have their account removed.  

There is very little information available on how they make these decisions but violations of their community guidelines are a definite way to get banned. 

With modern day technology, it seems that there a no-ride list could be a practical reality. However, it’s the legislation that would need to be addressed before a successful register could be introduced.