Three Safety Tips For Solo Taxi Travelers

Traveling by taxi is a smart way to get around your city or a new city that you're visiting on vacation or during business travel. If you're traveling on your own, it's important to be especially vigilant about being safe while using this mode of transportation. Although you're typically secure inside the taxi, a handful of precautionary steps will allow you to keep safe before and after your ride, too. Before you arrange your next taxi ride, brush up on these three tips to ensure your safety.

Call Instead Of Hail

It can often be convenient to hail a taxi from the side of the road, but if you aren't in an area in which taxis are prevalent, you might find yourself standing alone for an indefinite period of time, which is especially risky after dark. It's a safer strategy to call a taxi company in the area like Webster Penfield Taxi from your home, workplace, hotel or wherever you're located and arrange for a driver to pick you up at that location at a predetermined time. With this approach, you can safely wait indoors and watch for the taxi to arrive. To ensure that you're getting in the right taxi, always ask the company's dispatcher for the taxi number and confirm this information before you climb in.

Look Before You Leave

You're under no obligation to hurriedly climb from the vehicle as soon as you reach your destination. Put safety first by looking at the area from inside the vehicle. If you're concerned about something you see, such as individuals who make you feel uncomfortable or an unsafe-looking shadowy area that you'll have to walk through, simply ask the driver to find an alternate approach to the destination. For example, try a well-lit side door close to the road or parking lot.

Handle The Money Inside The Taxi

When you're ready to climb out of the taxi after you reach your destination, pause for a moment to pay the driver and give a tip from inside the vehicle. Some people choose to leave the vehicle and then pay and tip the driver through the window, but this approach isn't as safe because it leaves you handling your wallet or purse in a public area and puts you at risk of being a victim to a street crime. Once you pay the driver with cash or a credit card, return your wallet to your pocket or purse before you leave the vehicle.