BOLTON'S new look private hire cars take to the roads this week in a bid to improve passenger safety.

Local councillors have introduced better identification of private hirs cars following a spate of rapes in Manchester when unsuspecting women got into vehicles believing they were "taxis".

Councillors also acted following reports of bogus drivers operating in the Bolton area.

A survey of 1,000 Bolton people by Manchester Metropolitan University also revealed that 60pc of people thought markings on private hire cars were not good enough.

In a bid to combat the problem this week Bolton Council have started changing the identification on all the town's 650 private hire cars and 100 hackney carriages. Until now the only markings on vehicles to label them as private hire cars have been small red licensing plates on the rear.

But now the licensing office is introducing larger yellow plates for the front and back of cars, 18 inch long stickers for rear passenger doors and window stickers to be placed on all three passenger windows.

"By Christmas time every vehicle in Bolton will have the new identification," said Tricia Minihan, Bolton Council's licensing officer in charge of private hire and hackney carriages.

She added that the new stickers and plates will make Bolton private hire cars the most identifiable in Greater Manchester.

The new window stickers also warn passengers that they are not insured unless they have booked the vehicle through an operator and give the Council telephone number to call if they have any complaints about the vehicle or the driver.

Updated white rear licence plates and window stickers are also being introduced for hackney carriages.

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