Fewer women taking taxis home at night despite safety fears due to cost of living crisis
Over 60 per cent of women walk home more often despite fearing for their safety
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Your support makes all the difference.More women are walking home at night instead of getting a taxi despite safety concerns due to the cost of living crisis, a new poll has found.
One in five women said they had made the change as costs rise, with one woman telling The Independent she has been left feeling āterrified for her safetyā as a result.
Out of the women surveyed, 61 per cent said they are walking more often and 49 per cent are taking fewer taxis.
It comes as energy bills increase to an average of Ā£2,500 for UK households, inflation rises to a new 40-year high of 9.9 per cent and the prices of goods and services, including transport, reach record-breaking levels.
Momna Nasir, 26, from Ilford, said she often took Ubers at night before the cost of living crisis.
āNow, I tend to get a bus, a ride from a family or I walk on well-known roads to me where I presume no one would bother me,ā she said.
āWith the cost of living crisis, I go out less to my evening dance classes, I donāt have the money to socialise as much as I used to and most definitely have not been taking taxis because I canāt afford to anymore.ā
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Ms Nasir said she worries for her safety when walking home in her local area and is often reminded of the murder of Zara Aleena, 35, who was killed just 10 minutes away from her home in Ilford.
āI live in a false bubble thinking āthis is my local area, Iāll be fineā but knowing Zara Aleena was murdered when coming home from work nearby makes me feel like I will be another statistic at some point.
āJust the other day, I left my friendās house which is 10 minutes away from mine and I was inches away from being hit by a reckless driver, whose passengers laughed and swore at me when he was in the wrong and intentionally drove towards me just to scare me. You just donāt expect to be in danger so close to home.ā
Liz Yeates, a gardener from Leicester, also said she took taxis often before the cost of living crisis took hold.
The 44-year-old said: āFor a long time, I took local taxis regularly but with the cost-of-living crisis, Iām going out a lot less and when I do go out, Iām restricted to when buses are running so Iām leaving a lot earlier and drinking a lot less if at all.ā
The study, which surveyed 1,700 people on 6 and 7 September and was commissioned by Budweiser and safety app WalkSafe+, found that almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of women were likely to plan their route home before heading out.
āIt restricts my activity and even though drinking less isnāt necessarily a bad thing, I would have preferred to have made that decision on my own and not because of money or safety,ā she added. āIām also bad at judging risks and this can be worse when Iām drunk, especially as an autistic woman whoās often masking things due to internalised ableism.
āBy that I mean people have expectations of others when in public, so I often donāt act fully myself and Iāve found that as people feel the pinch more, they behave differently and are a bit more miserable and less friendly, so Iām more conscious of how people perceive me as someone who is disabled.
āRegarding judging risks, there was a case a little while ago when I was on the bus and I saw a bloke intimidating a woman on the other end of the bus, so I stepped in and said something,ā she continued.
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āThen, I realised I had to get off at the same bus stop as him and I was still a little way away from my house. A few years ago, that probably wouldnāt have happened as I would have been able to get a taxi more affordably.ā
Hajer, 29, from north London, says the cost of living crisis has greatly affected her social life and journeys home.
āNow that days are shorter and darkness is fast approaching, Iām even more terrified for my safety. Iām jittery when travelling alone even up the high street, and there have been times where I I know the option Iām taking isnāt the safest but it will save me Ā£40 on a taxi,ā she said.
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