East Devon tackles taxi abuse

They say there's ‘no excuse for abuse’ of taxi drivers in the area

Taxi driver abuse will not be tolerated, that’s the message being given out by East Devon District Council and local taxi licensing association through a new campaign.

Following recent reported incidents of abuse and assaults on local taxi drivers, East Devon District Council and the local taxi and licensing association have launched a ‘No excuse for abuse’ awareness campaign, which aims to encourage greater respect from the public for taxi drivers in the district.

Taxi drivers in Exmouth have been experiencing higher levels of abuse at night times and both the council and the trade association are determined to prevent further incidents through an awareness education campaign, which emphasises that such behaviour will not be tolerated.

‘No Excuse for Abuse’ is a hard hitting national campaign being run by the National Taxi Association in conjunction with partners, which aims to reinforce the message that any abuse of taxi traders, whether verbal or physical, will not be tolerated and that all incidents will be reported to the police.

The partnership work will involve councillors, officers and members of Exmouth Taxi Association and will see ‘No excuse for abuse’ stickers and material circulated to all taxi proprietors for display in vehicles, following a recent partnership meeting.

Councillor Paul Jarvis, Chair of East Devon District Council’s Licensing and Enforcement Committee, said: “We have always been very good at focusing on the safety of the public, but this is an equally important campaign, to be able to support licensed drivers to remain safe on the job is not only a good position to take, it is the only one.