Posted on the 24th September 2026 in PHTM News

DRIVERS REMAIN VITAL FOR TAXI PRIVATE HIRE PASSENGERS ACROSS UK

As driverless taxis start appearing on UK streets, research has revealed the vital role taxi drivers continue to play for passengers across the country.

A survey conducted by taxi insurance broker The Taxi Insurer highlights the multi-faceted nature of drivers’ responsibilities, with getting passengers to their destination in a safe and timely manner just one of many demands.

“Aside from getting their passengers from A to B, today’s drivers are also asked to wear many other hats,” said The Taxi Insurer’s David Sweeney.

“For example, one in five (19%) passengers have treated their driver as a part-time therapist and asked them for personal advice, and one in ten (11%) have gone into private detective mode by telling their driver to follow another car or a pedestrian.”

Whether it’s protecting elderly passengers from courier fraud or safely delivering seriously injured passengers to hospital, drivers are regularly presented with all kinds of testing situations that demand a swift but considered response.

LOST PROPERTY SERVICE:

An added responsibility drivers fulfil is as a lost property service, reuniting forgotten items with their owners. More than two in five (44%) passengers surveyed admitted to leaving their belongings in the back of a cab.

We can all be forgetful at times, but could you see yourself leaving your phone in a taxi, as one in seven (14%) admit to having done? Or forgetting your passport, a situation which a tenth (10%) of passengers have had to deal with?

On a more alarming level, 4% of respondents have got out of a taxi without the engagement ring or human ashes they entered it with, and 3% were brave enough to own up to leaving a baby on the back seat.

“Whether driverless taxis are the future of our industry remains to be seen,” continued David, “but in the meantime, there’s no doubting the invaluable role that drivers play for passengers on a daily basis. From providing personal advice to reuniting babies with the parents that left them behind, drivers have a lot more to do than just drive!”

For more information on the unsung role cabbies play in their local communities, please visit: https://www.taxiinsurer.co.uk/.../the-relationship.../


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