This post was shared on Cambridge Taxi Forum

On Thursday 28 November, around 00:30 he accepted what looked like a normal Uber job in the Huntingdon area.

But the moment the passenger got inside, everything changed.

The man pulled out a knife, pointed it directly at the driver and said:

“Don’t touch anything. Don’t press any buttons. Show your hands. Switch off the CCTV.”

The driver was held at knifepoint for 29 minutes while being forced to drive into a dark, isolated rural area with no lights and no houses — exactly the kind of place where no one can help you.

He genuinely thought he was going to die.

When he realised he had no way to protect himself, he calmly pleaded with the attacker. He told him he had a family and begged not to be harmed. The attacker eventually ordered him out of the car, and once the driver stepped away, the man took the vehicle and drove off.

Police responded quickly, arrested the suspect, and recovered the car.

Where is the support for drivers?

Since this incident:

•  The driver has been traumatised

• He has not worked since

•  He is scared to return to night shifts

•  His family is shaken

•  His income has stopped

•  He received NO welfare support from Licensing

•  Uber also offered him NO support despite the job coming through their platform

Not even a phone call asking if he’s alive.

PHV drivers pay some of the highest licensing fees in the region, and yet when something genuinely life-threatening happens, nobody is there for us.

 Let’s be honest — driver safety has been ignored for a long time

Before this attack, we already sent the Council:

– videos of PHVs being vandalised

– photos

– crime references

– evidence that ONLY marked PHVs were being targeted

The Council denied it all and said there was “no evidence.”

Now a driver has had a knife in his face for half an hour — and still, not a single message of support from Licensing.

Instead, what have they been doing for the last 2–3 weeks?

•  pulling drivers over,

•  checking stickers,

•  looking for tiny faults,

•  focusing on paperwork instead of our actual safety.

They care more about door signs, stickers and vehicle cleanliness than the fact that drivers are being attacked, robbed and threatened.

And what exactly are they checking?

Half the things they are stopping drivers for aren’t even required in their own policy.

Drivers are being hassled over items that aren’t even mandatory anymore.

This is what happens when priorities are upside-down.

Drivers deserve better — and this cannot continue

We are:

– working alone at night

– picking up strangers

– entering unknown areas

– facing real threats

We pay:

•  licence fees

•  plate fees

•  badge fees

•  the £600 CCTV

•  maintenance

•  fuel

•  insurance

But when something goes wrong?

•  No welfare

•  No protection

•  No acknowledgement

•  No safeguarding

•  No action on vandalism

•  And now — no support after a knife attack

Driver safety is not a luxury — it is a duty.

Final message

This driver is lucky to be alive.

The Council said CCTV would “protect drivers.”

It didn’t.

The Council said signage “improves safety.”

It hasn’t.

The Council said vandalism “has no evidence.”

The videos prove otherwise.

Enough is enough.

We will be raising this formally with Licensing.

In the meantime, PLEASE stay alert, especially at night.

Your life is more important than the car, the job or the platform.

Stay safe, everyone.

All@PHTM send our support & best wishes to this driver ....

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