Taxi drivers need to work to make a living so, within reason, whatever the weather, they have to get behind the wheel of their taxi or private hire vehicle and pick up and drop off passengers. We have had a couple of periods of very high temperatures here in the UK in the last few weeks and it is quite possible that we will be seeing more of them in the future. So, what can a taxi driver do to make their and their passengers’ journeys in the vehicle as comfortable as possible?

Well, hopefully the taxi will have air conditioning inside enabling you to keep the vehicle cool when it is extremely warm outside. However, you should make sure that it is operating efficiently and check to see if it needs re-gassing.

If you don’t happen to have air conditioning in the taxi then try to drive with the windows down or partly down to help ventilate the car for the benefit of both you and your passengers.

You may prefer to wear lightly fitting cotton clothing to help reduce the possibility of your body getting too hot.

Make sure that you carry sufficient bottles of cool water to keep you hydrated when you are working. A nice touch would be to offer your passengers a bottle of such water if you are taking them on a lengthy trip i.e. an airport transfer.

As a taxi driver, you will hopefully know where road works are that would result in getting caught up in a queue of traffic. Try to avoid them by taking an alternative route even if it means you have a slightly longer journey.

Ensure that your taxi is serviced on a regular basis and check the water and oil levels periodically as you would not wish to break down whilst driving in extremely hot weather.

We hope that the above is of benefit to you and your passengers.