Glasgow Taxis: 'The City's Fourth Emergency Service'

www.theglasneigian.co.uk

Feb 8 2012 EXCLUSIVE By Joe McGuire

“GLASGOW Taxis are basically the city’s fourth emergency service” Stephen Flynn tells me.

It’s a bold claim from the vice-chairperson of the biggest UK taxi firm outside London, but with the conversational ease born from decades in the trade, he sets about arguing his point.

Based in a smart new complex near the 2014 Games site, the offices of Glasgow Taxis may not resemble an ambulance depot or firestation from the outside, but walk into the call centre and you could well believe it was a 999 office.

Here dozens of staff take the thousands of calls the company gets every day, and while they may not be from people reporting a blaze or needing medical treatment, not having transport in the city center can be a personal emergency.

And when it comes to more serious incidents, whether that’s a road traffic accident or assault in progress, Glasgow taxi drivers act as a 900-strong intelligence network for the emergency services.

Secretary Robert Dunabie told us: “For the police it’s like having 900 extra eyes and ears on the road.

“If any of our guys spot any trouble they’re on the blower to us and we liaise with Strathclyde Police and the city’s CCTV center to get things calmed down.

“Even if it’s just someone we see who’s too drunk to look after themselves we call it in and CCTV will monitor them until police arrive.”

Sometimes, however, cab driver’s actions prevent far more than just a night spent on the pavement.

New software used to record in real time the exact route of any journey taken by drivers, used primarily to make sure drivers take the most efficient route, can also be utilised by police to help pinpoint witnesses and criminals by revealing all taxis who operated near a specific location at a particular time.

The company also actively try to prevent such crime through their Female First accounts, which gives lone females a special prioritized service.

And for extra peace of mind every Glasgow Taxi driver must have enhanced disclosure - equivalent to what is required to work in a nursery or primary school.

Stephen also tells me about Glasgow’s Taxi’s work on the Nite Zones.

Known better to the public as taxi ranks, there are five Nite Zones across Glasgow, each with Glasgow Taxi stewards on hand.

Trained in conflict management, it’s the stewards’ job to get people into their cab safely and quickly get everyone home for the night.

And when you take as many as 25,000 fares a day speed is of the essence.

On Glasgow’s infamous Black Friday alone the company took 7000 at Nite Zones, with the number of off-the-street fares predicted to be double that.

But it’s not just straight A-B fares the company takes.

Stephen explains: “We take all sorts of jobs,

“We’ve had Americans who want to be taken to places their grandparents were from, or that they visited in their youth.

“There can be a fair whack of detective work involved, with people navigating by landmarks they recognize.

“And we do tours of Glasgow too; our taxi drivers don’t just know the streets they know the city.”

Indeed their front-line role when it comes to visitors to the city has prompted council Leader Gordon Matheson to praise drivers as ambassadors for the city.

So while it may not be an emergency next time you’re stepping into a cab after one too many brandys, you can sit back in the knowledge you’re in qualified hands.