Londoners are being warned to be careful when it comes to who is driving them home.
The city issued a warning Friday urging citizens not to accept rides from so called bandit taxis after noticing a recent up tick in the number of vehicle-for-hire advertisements posted on websites such as Kijiji.
"Accepting a ride advertised on the internet means you know nothing about the driver and nothing about the car,” said Orest Katolyk, the city's bylaw boss, in a written statement. “It is simply unsafe. There are many other options – taxis, limousines and licensed private vehicles. We hear too often about alleged sexual assaults in unlicensed vehicles. We want to avoid that in London.”
Bylaw officers charged three people this week for operating unlicensed cabs in the city. Under the recently passed vehicle-for-hire bylaw, first time offenders face a $1,000 fine. The maximum fine sits at $50,000.
Only licensed drivers working through approved transportation network companies like Uber are allowed to offer rides in their private vehicles in London. Those vehicles are required to have front and rear window signage when offering rides to the public.
