Council advice to get home safely this Christmas

Party revelers in Leeds are being advised to heed some simple warnings to make sure they get home safely this Christmas.

Leeds City Council is reminding people enjoying the festive season to make sure they plan ahead and don’t make mistakes which could risk their safety.

Councillor Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, said:

“Keeping our city safe is really important. We want people to have a great night out in Leeds but we also want them to be able to get home safely. Making sure you know the difference between private hire and a Hackney carriage taxi is actually quite important.

“You must always pre-book a private hire vehicle otherwise any insurance would be invalid, but you can hail or flag Hackney carriages down in the street and they can also be found at taxi ranks around the city centre.

“It can be dangerous to use an un-booked private hire vehicle, because the driver would not be acting under the control of their operator and may be bogus. If you were to be the victim of a crime it would be very hard to trace the driver.”

You can tell the difference between a Hackney carriage (Taxi) and a private hire vehicle quite easily. Hackney carriages have an illuminated sign on their roof. They also have a predominantly white body and black boot and bonnet or advertising, known as a full corporate body wrap.

To further help revelers stay safe, Safer Leeds is again enlisting the help taxi marshals throughout the festive season.

The taxi marshals will be located at three taxi ranks across the city — Leeds Railway Station, Call Lane/Corn Exchange and adjacent to the Oceana nightclub on Woodhouse Lane. Marshals will be working alongside the street marshals who are patrolling the areas outside nightclubs as well as Police Community Support Officers and police volunteer constables.

The taxi ranks will have three marshals working from 10pm – 3am each Friday and Saturday night up to and including New Year’s Eve.