Illegal Cabs in London

In the lead up to the Christmas party season, thousands of women out partying with friends and colleagues are in danger of getting into an illegal cab at the end of the night. Don't risk it. 104 cab-related sexual attacks were committed in London last year and recent research shows that around half of late night travellers incorrectly believe that minicabs can pick up passengers that approach them in the street.

The Truth About Illegal Cabs

Any minicab journey that has not been pre-booked is illegal, uninsured and unsafe. It is a criminal offence for drivers to carry out a journey that has not been booked through a licensed operator.
Booking guarantees that your trip will be carried out by a licensed driver in a licensed vehicle. It also means that a record will be kept of your journey, your driver and the vehicle used. In the event of any problems, the driver can be traced.
Only licensed taxis (black cabs) can be hailed in the street or picked up at a rank without a booking.

Cabwise

If you're out partying in London, there’s just one number that you need: Cabwise (60835). If you need a taxi home and don’t have the number of a cab firm in the area, simply text ‘HOME’ to 60835 (texts cost 35p). You’ll immediately get one taxi and two local licensed minicab numbers for firms operating in the area sent to your mobile.

In order to make best use of the service, text ‘HOME’ before you are ready to leave (e.g. before last orders). You’ll then have plenty of time to phone for the cab and arrange pickup for when you are ready to head home. There's no need to ever risk an illegal cab again.

Cabwise is available on all mobile networks except 3. We hope to have it on 3 soon but in the meantime there is a different number 3 customer’s need to text. See Transport for London for details.

The Truth About Illegal Cabs

Cabwise

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