MCC and the local council are to blame for these bogus taxi drivers ,its time the council made all private hire cabs to be painted the same colours black with white bonnet and roof with taxi being printed on the doors.Its weeks off xmas again and again we will have people being picked up by bogus taxi drivers and yet the local authority does nothing.This is the 5th year ive been saying this and yet nothing is done to try and stop these girls/customers being rapped and assualted each week.

Yet again another girl assaulted, you would think they would have more sense as not to get in a car with a stranger! Some people never learn from the mistakes of others this will happen again before the festivities are over it does every year. Please be more carefull people!

To be honest ace, the council could make taxi's red and white polka dots and tipsy and drunken girls would still get in them. people have to drink responsibly and not take chances with their safety but you are right, it happens time and time again, every Christmas. Men who pose as taxi drivers need to be severely punished for it by the courts.

how sad this kind of incident has happened again. But i do agree why does anyone just get into a car without checking it out properly? i know i would never allow anyone i was with just go off on their own anyway. Where were this poor girls friends?

The Printworks seems to have become a nightmare for Private Hire Drivers to pick up fares. I contacted the Council back in March, informing them they are putting the general public at risk. The Black Cab feeder rank on Corporation Street makes picking up fares at the Printworks a nightmare. Girls on there own often book taxis home well in advance, but when they try to find there cab its almost impossible to find. Consultation between the Greater Manchester Private Hire Association and relevant Parties should seek an understanding of what is requierd. The Publics Safety is Paramount. For the Private Hire Drivers why not visit the www.Greatermanchesterprivatehireassociation.co.uk

Ace knows that I do my best not to agree with him but on this topic he is spot on.
I know people should be more careful but what is the bigger crime? A young woman gets drunk and careless or predatory scumbags posing as private hire drivers?

it's the same as hitching a lift on a country lane in the middle of nowhere. I blame the schools.

The schools? Better off, what have you been sniffing? It is not the same as hitchhiking at night on a lonely road.
And how can it possibly be blamed on schools?
Unless of course you know of a place that teaches men how to trick young women into getting into a car so they can rape them.

Am I mistaken but I thought all private hire cabs now have to be white with a big yellow sticker on the bonnet ?

Ms D, that may well be the regulation but without strict enforcement it is of no use.

pescado, getting into a strangers car is something I was always told not to do.
schools today do not prepare kids for society.
if you get into an un licensed car and expect a lift, chances are you'll be safe. but there are always nutters out there.
rule 1: use official transort
rule 2: don't headline a police sign

This lady took a conscious decision to get into a vehicle that wasn’t a Taxi. If she had booked a private hire vehicle and was awaiting its arrival then she certainly didn’t determine whether or not it was bone fide or indeed from the company she presumably booked it with?

Don’t you females realise that you are vulnerable when you make decisions such as this unfortunate lady. There are many men out there who won’t hesitate to take advantage of vulnerable women in such situations, so if you have any regard for your own safety then you better start acting responsibly and teach your children to do the same.
With respect to enforcement of Private hire drivers and bogus individuals illegally plying for hire on the streets of Manchester, I’m afraid it is a fact of life that we are all going to have to live with indefinitely. Neither the local Police or Manchester city council are concerned about the activity of “illegal plying for hire” and I’m afraid the practice of these bodies turning a blind eye to what they don’t see as a problem as long as the streets are cleared, is probably one of the reasons why this bogus individual was allowed to coerce this lady into his vehicle in such a public place surrounded by many police officers, although by all accounts it appears she didn’t need much coercing?
Manchester City council employs seven enforcement officers to police over three thousand hackney carriage and private hire drivers practically all of these officers work 9-5. You won’t see any out on the streets at night enforcing illegal plying for hire because they say it’s hard to enforce. The Printworks has CCTV cameras covering the whole of Shudehill and Corporation Street so it should be quite easy to find this person who committed this crime. The CCTV can also detect the illegal activity of those private hire drivers who regularly pick up at the Printworks, illegally so there shouldn’t really be any problem with prosecuting private hire drivers as CCTV footage has been use din other authorities to convict.
Statistics on the illegal activity of all drivers bogus or otherwise can be found on the premier Taxi website known as www.taxi-driver.co.uk you will be surprised at the prevalence of such attacks throughout the country.

You want to see evidence of the illegal activity of private drivers who place themselves in a position to be hired by the general public, well here you have it. The lack of enforcement in Manchester means there is nothing stopping any individual with criminal intent from sitting on this taxi rank just like these private hire drivers and making themselves available to the general public for hire. www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=81428 Are Manchester city council and the police failing in their duty to protect the public of Manchester? I’ll leave you to decide that?

In July 2002 the Manchester Evening News published an editorial titled “End of the Road for Bogus cabbie” the article quoted a statement from the police that read “we will clear you off the streets”. Det Con Sean Loughlin welcomed the conviction and warned that “police will continue to crack down on all bogus cabbies”. So what went wrong? Perhaps words come easier than deeds?