Whether it’s a taxi direct to the airport or simply a short hop across town, taxi cabs perform a vital role in getting us where we want to be. But does this vital industry present the right image of itself?
Taxi operators in Preston, Lancashire, have mixed views on the issue. A new initiative designed to make cabbies both smarter dressed and fitter has drawn support and criticism within the town’s taxi trade.
Taxi Fitness Programme
NHS Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust (CLPCT) and Preston City Council have teamed up in an effort to help cabbies become fitter, adopt a healthier lifestyle and present a better image of themselves to the public.
The aptly named ‘Fit and Quit Squad’ is offering special training sessions for the towns taxi cab drivers at Deepdale Stadium. The free scheme is able to be tailored to each individual cabbie’s shift pattern and lifestyle. Further to these classes, taxi drivers who smoke can attend additional ‘Stop Smoking’ sessions to help them quit.
A spokesperson for the CLPCT said: “It’s really important because the job they do is already very sedentary. Taxi drivers work shifts and have funny eating patterns – they also work through the night when takeaways are often the only food available.
“We’ve had a positive response so far, many drivers do want to get fit and shed those pounds.”
Taxi Smarts
The council has issued guidance on dress code to cabbies, banning bare chests, football tops, flip flops and shell-suits.
Mark Selley, of the Preston Hackney Carriage Association, agrees with much of what the council is trying to do.
“In Edinburgh the taxi drivers have to wear smart trousers and collared shirts, many of them actually enjoy having a dress code because they feel like ambassadors of the city,” says We do need to smarten up and I do agree with the initiative to get taxi drivers fit but I’m not sure what the take-up will be.”
However, Wayne Casey, of the NTA, commented: “The ban on football shirts is a bit ridiculous. I’m more likely to think a taxi driver wearing a Preston North End T-shirt will know their way around more than one wearing a suit.”