A new team of taxi marshals are patrolling Coventry city centre – aiming to make the journey home after a night out safer and quicker. Under the sixth month pilot scheme the group operates out of the official taxi rank on Spon Street. The team monitors taxis to make sure that all picking up in the city centre are licenced and check that ranks are only being used by black cabs.

Marshals will also keep an eye on private hire vehicles, which must be pre-booked, to ensure they are stopping in a safe location, not blocking roads or endangering pedestrians. Mohammed Amjad, a taxi driver in the city centre, said: “Before the introduction of this service there was no real coordination at taxi ranks.

“Private hire drivers would come in and block up the area and as a result we would lose customers. I have definitely seen a change since the programme was introduced. It is making it safer for our customers too when they are trying to get a taxi.”

Coventry City Council has provided training for the marshals and the scheme is run by Coventry Business Improvement District (BID). Coventry BID’s street patrol team has also expanded its service to patrol in the evening around Skydome and Spon Street area to deter crime and anti-social behaviour. It will be covering nightlife hotspots in the city, with patrols taking place every evening from 10pm to 4am.

Joanne Glover, Coventry BID manager, said: “The pilot for the taxi marshal scheme is going well, with parking significantly more orderly in taxi ranks, traffic flowing and unauthorised vehicles being deterred from operating. Night time visitors to the city centre are now able to leave in a swifter and safer fashion by utilising licenced vehicles. Our night patrol team has also intervened in a number of incidents to help people get home safely and de-escalate potentially challenging situations.”