Chorley taxi boss working on security system for Bolton drivers

Shaz Malik says that his new system will help protect drivers in Bolton, his own hometown of Chorley and elsewhere in the region when he has finalised the details.

Bolton has also seen its share of assaults on drivers, including a case in July when a taxi was pelted with stones and mud by nearby youths.

The driver feared at the time that the signage on his car had made him a target.

This came after a much discussed incident in Breightmet in February the year before when a brick appeared to have been thrown at a moving taxi.

A taxi was pelted with mud and stones in Bromley Cross in the summer (Image: Submission)

Mr Malik says these are examples of the dangers taxi drivers face and vindicates a previous statement he had made condemning those who treat cabbies like “human punching bags".

Mr Malik has also called on taxi drivers in Bolton to follow the example he has set in Chorley by establishing a single professional body for both Hackney and Private Hire drivers.

He has already done so in his own hometown with the Chorley Taxi Association and believes if Bolton drivers do this they will be ready for the new driver-led security system he is working on.

But Mr Malik also feels more needs to be done to crack down on attacks against taxi drivers.

He said: “I think its easier now for people to commit crimes like these than it is to work and we need to make it harder for people who commit these crimes.”

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Mr Malik says that his new security system, which will equip drivers who sign up with cameras and monitoring software to help keep each other safe will be ready in the coming weeks.

He added: “We’ve got it in the pipeline and we hope to involve drivers in Bolton, Chorley and all around Lancashire and Greater Manchester.”