How the Safe Taxi Scheme works:
- The Safe Taxi Scheme was launched in 2012 by Dragon Taxis and Cardiff University.
- It was established with the intent to help students get home even if they have run out of cash.
- To use it, phone Dragon Taxis on 029 2033 3333, and quote ‘Cardiff University Safe Taxi Scheme’.
- Give your name and student number. When you get home, you will be handed a receipt card – visit the finance office at the Students Union within the next few days to pay off the debt.
- The service is available 24 hours a day, with a maximum allowance of £20 on the account, and a maximum of 4 students allowed to travel at any given time.
- The drop off point must be either a residential address, Halls of Residence, police station or hospital.
- It is hoped that as the scheme becomes more widely used, it will put pressure on other taxi companies to create similar services.
After a recent survey suggested many Cardiff residents (including 51% of women and 55% of the disabled) didn’t feel safe in the city after dark, the Council laid out its plans for improving the night-time economy over the next five years.
“We want to make Cardiff a safe, welcoming place to come at night,” said Joseph Reay, Head of Performance and Partnerships. “There is still a perception that Cardiff is quite single track, and only offers night-time activity to a single group of people.”
Joseph believes the heart of the problem is the lack of alternatives available in Cardiff’s nightlife.
He said: “What it really comes down to in terms of perception is to diversify the entertainment on offer. It’s to find ways of getting a different type of person into the city centre and changing the balance.”
Many efforts are ongoing in the city centre to help reduce the levels of drunken crime, including the provision of breathalysers for shops and bars to use on their customers. According to Steph Kendrick-Doyle, the Regional Cohesion Community Co-ordinator, they have already proven an inspired idea.
“Public Health Wales have told us that door staff are finding them [breathalysers] a really useful tool,” said Steph. “The feedback to us is that it actually reduces tension on the door and means that people can say ‘look, this is proof you’re too drunk to come in.’”
Other key parts of the report include the Safe Taxis scheme, which allows cash-strapped students to get home; the creation of late-night ‘safe spaces’; and the introduction of a dedicated waste team focusing directly on business frontages.
“There’s evidence and research to show that the condition of the surrounding environment does affect citizen’s behaviour”, added Steph, “so the look and feel of the city really does have an impact.”
How the Safe Taxi Scheme works:
- The Safe Taxi Scheme was launched in 2012 by Dragon Taxis and Cardiff University.
- It was established with the intent to help students get home even if they have run out of cash.
- To use it, phone Dragon Taxis on 029 2033 3333, and quote ‘Cardiff University Safe Taxi Scheme’.
- Give your name and student number. When you get home, you will be handed a receipt card – visit the finance office at the Students Union within the next few days to pay off the debt.
- The service is available 24 hours a day, with a maximum allowance of £20 on the account, and a maximum of 4 students allowed to travel at any given time.
- The drop off point must be either a residential address, Halls of Residence, police station or hospital.
- It is hoped that as the scheme becomes more widely used, it will put pressure on other taxi companies to create similar services.