Dress Code for Cabbies

Thursday 26th of April 2007 04:58:07 AM

Dress Code for Cabbies

Under debate in Macclesfield Borough, UK is whether cabbies should adopt a professional dress code when picking up fares. While this may be good news for some, others are put off by the idea saying they need to wear clothing that is comfortable, which usually means T-Shirts, jeans, and sneakers. “Drivers should be able to wear something loose and comfortable. As long as you get the customer to where he’s going and are polite, it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing – even if you’re in the nude!,” said the manager of LBW taxis in Bollington, Neil Whike.

But some cabbies have adopted their own dress code in order to present themselves as professionals when picking up customers. “I do a lot of corporate work so I feel it’s important to be smart. When I pick up new visitors to the area, they may have just hopped off a train so you’re often the first person they see so it’s nice to give a good impression. People say when they get in my taxi that it’s nice to see someone so smartly dressed,” said cabbie Tony Hudson, a private operator with Dial-a-Cab taxis.

So far, a proposal has been submitted that would require cabbies to wear clothing other than T-Shirts when they pick up fares, but no ordinances have been passed.

“There is already a dress code in the current licensing plan, but we are aiming to make it more detailed and raise the profile of the profession. It also gives drivers and passengers a chance to give their views. We say drivers should always be clean and respectable, but we need to define that as a set of guidelines for them to follow. A professional looking driver, smartly dressed, will not only create an efficient impression of the borough, but establish customer confidence from the outset of the journey,” said a Macclesfield Borough Council spokesman.

(c)Omar Franco, www.sxc.hu