![]() ![]() Many of the “old school” drivers have become immune to these attacks, usually ignoring it with a smile or simply accepting the reality that abuse from drunk customers is part and parcel of their job. The abuse could range from verbal, physical or generally negative body language from customers who perceive them as “inferior”. It is a well-established fact amongst taxi drivers – particularly those who work night shifts and weekends – that at some point during their time in the taxi trade, they will face some sort of abuse. The majority of Muslim taxi drivers are located in London, West Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South East. One in seven are of Pakistani ethnicity, one in eight are of Bangladeshi ethnicity and two in seven cab drivers in the UK are Muslim. The Department for Transport’s National Taxi and Private Hire Statistics 2011 recorded 299,200 taxi drivers in Britain. Whilst seeking a full-time job in journalism, what became apparent to me was the shocking racist and Islamophobic attitudes many white Britons had towards Islam and Muslims, especially after they’d “had a few bevies” on the weekend, writes Dilly Hussain. After graduating from university in 2009, I worked as a systems controller for numerous family-run taxi firms in my hometown of Bedford.
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