The Christmas party season is in full swing, and Caerphilly County Borough Council and Gwent Police are keen to encourage party goers to make sure they get home safely at the end of their night out by only using a licensed taxi.

Cab Safe is a well established joint initiative between Gwent Police and local authorities in the area, which allows people to obtain up to three phone numbers of licensed taxi companies in the area from which they are texting.

Cllr David Poole, Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services said, “Ensuring the safety of our residents and visitors to our county borough is of course always a priority, and Cab Safe ensures that people help themselves by putting their safety first when it comes to travelling home after a night out. It offers peace of mind to those who find themselves without a taxi, giving them easy access to fully licensed and regulated taxi companies for a safe journey home”.

He continued, “It is so important to only use the services of fully licensed taxis – and I would encourage those who are in any doubt at all to make use of this scheme, and help ensure that this festive period is not only a very enjoyable time, but also a very safe time for all”.

Many of the licensed taxis and private hire firms operating within the county borough have joined the scheme, which helps ensure that residents and visitors to Caerphilly county borough have quick and easy access to local licensed taxi companies.

To use the service, simply text ‘Cab’ to 83222. Each text message costs 50 pence.

Partnership Sergeant for Caerphilly, PS Rob Davies explains: “Cab Safe is a very simple scheme that has been devised to keep people safe by allowing them to easily get the appropriate licensed taxis throughout Caerphilly.

“When people get drunk they do things that they wouldn’t normally do – they get into unknown or unlicensed taxis or even walk home in cold temperatures. We want Christmas revellers to plan the start and end of their nights and I hope people reading this will save 83222 into their phone and then all they have to do is simply text ‘cab’ – it’s a fantastic scheme that has always proved very successful in the past.”

Caerphilly County Borough Council is keen to promote the Cab Safe initiative as part of its work alongside Gwent Police and other members of the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership as part of its new ‘Safer Caerphilly After Dark’ initiative.

The project, which sees local people and trades including local taxi companies, takeaway staff, bar staff, door supervisors and street pastors team up with the police, council and other organisations, and work together to ensure that everyone who is out in the county borough’s town centres after dark has an enjoyable and safe time.

For further information on the Cab Safe initiative, please visit www.caerphilly.gov.uk

Residents with any information concerning any person who is acting as an unlicensed taxi driver or using an unlicensed vehicle should contact Trading Standards on 01495 235 291 or e-mail tradingstandards@caerphilly.gov.uk

For further information on the Safer Caerphilly After Dark scheme, please visit the Safer CCB website