The scariest 40 minutes of my life
DJ’s nightmare walk home due to taxi shortage sparks fears for women’s safety
A DJ fears for women’s safety due to a taxi shortage caused by the pandemic – after she was harassed walking home in the early hours.
Rosie Shannon, 29, performs as AISHA and has DJ’d in nightclubs in Berlin before starting a residency at Sub Club in Jamaica Street, Glasgow.
When she returned to work in September, Rosie found she was unable to get a taxi with waits of up to two hours.
And she was forced to walk home with a pal instead – which she said was the scariest 40-minute journey of her life. She revealed that she was repeatedly approached by men wanting to chat.
She said: “I finish at around 3am or 5am, depending on what time I’m playing at. When I was back in a club for the first time since restrictions lifted, I couldn’t get a taxi at all.
“I had to walk back with my friend and I’ve never been so scared for our safety before.
“During that walk, men were coming up to us in the street and trying to talk to us. We were phoning taxis and telling them ‘we’re scared, we’re in the street’ and they told us we’d need to walk home.
“Every time I’ve had to walk home since it has been the same story and this is what I am hearing from my friends too. It’s a dangerous situation to be in. We would be on the other side of the street and men would come over and start speaking to us.” The taxi sector accepted the shortage problem and is appealing to the authorities to help speed up the process for new drivers.
Dougie McPherson, Glasgow Taxis chairman said: “From the average age of our drivers and the cost of owning or operating a taxi, to the growth of the gig economy and the prospect of Low Emissions Zones, it’s a ticking time bomb.” Police Scotland has been monitoring the situation for women on the streets.
While in Edinburgh, an organised ‘buddy-system’, Strut Safe, has been set up to arrange for a vetted volunteer walk women home after a night out. A hotline is manned so people can call for help.
It was set up following the murder of Sarah Everard, 33, in March by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens.
Rosie Shannon supports the scheme, saying: “Everyone involved is vetted beforehand so you know it’s someone safe who will come and help to take you home. It is a shame these things have to come about but at times like this, it is needed.”
She suggested it should be easier, quicker and cheaper for drivers – who must wait as long as a year to qualify – to be allowed into the taxi industry. She said: “It is having a look at those rules and seeing if they can make it easier, just like they’re doing with HGV drivers. That can take a long time to implement and something does need to happen now. People are already being assaulted, bad things are already happening.
“It is only a matter of time before predators realise women are walking home now more than ever and taking advantage of that.”
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The issues facing the taxi and private hire trade are found far beyond Glasgow and also the influence of the licensing system.
“However, we have met with representatives of the taxi trade on the issue of driver availability and we will work with the trade to identify whatever measures we can in an attempt to have more drivers operating in the city.”
We told taxis we’re scared and they said walk home
ROSIE SHANNON ON THE TAXI SHORTAGE CRISIS