The RMT London Taxi Branch will be demonstrating/picketing outside the offices of Transport for London, Windsor House, Victoria Street SW1 at 11am on the 11th April 2011 over the disturbing and worrying rise in reported rapes/sexual assaults of women in London.

• In the year 2009 140 sexual assaults were reported in “bogus” or unlicensed mini-cabs.
• Of the 140 reported sexual assaults 24 were actual rapes.
• When compared to 2008 figures this represents a rise of 53%
• The Taxi Private Hire (TPH) directorate of Transport for London (TFL) under the management of John Mason has done little to increase the number of enforcement officers.
• TFL/TPH can’t even keep the London taxi-cab rank at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane clear of touts/mini-cabs at night. Note; the rank is the responsibility of TPH the road is the responsibility of TFL.
• According to minutes of the Surface Transport Panel of Transport for London dated Tuesday the 9th of November 2010 the Metropolitan Police do not on arrest of a suspect record whether the driver is a mini-cab or on the rarest of occasions a taxi-cab driver.

London needs a vibrant entertaining night time economy but Londoners especially women need to know that the streets are safe from criminals. The Metropolitan Police need to deter crime and not wait to deal with 140 sexual assaults of which 24 were rapes. We should all note that these figures represent reported crimes there may be more…

The RMT London branch calls upon the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, members of the London Assembly, all London MP’s/MEP’s and urges them to ensure the safety of women here in the capital at night.

The RMT London taxi branch will not sit back and watch the “illegal” activities of licensed/unlicensed mini-cab drivers/touts across the capital and we will hold people in public office to account for their failings.
We will be picketing/demonstrating outside various offices of TFL/TPH to highlight to you in the media and members of the public the failings of people in elected office.

Please note there is a solution, we placed it before the Director of Taxi Private Hire at TFL he failed to act or take the idea forward. Better, greater numbers of enforcement officers are needed to curb the “illegal” activities of licensed and unlicensed mini-cab drivers/touts. The monies to pay for these enforcement officers could be raised by increasing the fees the mini-cab trade pays to TPH/TFL.

• Why are the numbers of enforcement officers so low?
• Why will TPH/TFL not increase fees for the mini-cab trade and increase the number of enforcement officers?
• The money would come from the trade that is causing the problem and not the public purse.
• Why did the present director of Taxi Private Hire fail to even consider this idea when it was placed before him?

140 women sexually assaulted in 2009/10 of which 24 were rapes. How many more women need to be attacked/assaulted or even raped before the Mayor/TFL and the Met Police get their act together?