Whether it is helping people get to work in the morning or making it home after a night out, taxi drivers provide a vital service to the public. Working all hours of the day, they offer a lifeline to those without cars of their own or to those who don't have easy access to public transport.
But the nature of their work can make them vulnerable to attack. Sadly in recent years Manchester's courts have seen first had evidence of this.
Judges have locked up criminals who murdered, robbed or attacked taxi drivers as they tried to make an honest living. Here are some of the recent cases to come before the courts.
Uber driver murdered after telling passenger to stop eating in his car
Uber driver Ali Asghar was working in Oldham town centre when he picked up Connor McPartland and Martin Treacy. The pair had been out in Oldham and wanted to head to Rochdale to for a Halloween house party last year.
McPartland, 20, had wanted to go to Koko's, a nightclub in Rochdale town centre, but had wrongly typed in Coco's on the popular app, which is a restaurant just outside the town centre.
The mix-up was resolved during the journey but Mr Asghar pulled over the taxi shortly after, when he challenged Treacy, 18, who had started eating a chicken burger and chips in the back of his car. Treacy swore at him and refused to stop eating.
Mr Asghar, 38, pulled over near a petrol station on Queensway in Rochdale at about 4am and was subjected to a 'ferocious, brutal and totally unforgiving attack'.
It culminated with him being pushed to the floor and banging his head against the wheel of his car, which caused him to bleed heavily. He suffered catastrophic brain injuries and died two weeks later.
McPartland and Treacy were both convicted of murder following a trial in May. Both received life sentences. McPartland will serve at least 14 years and six months, while Treacy was jailed for at least 13 years and six months.
'Look what you are wearing, P*** b*****d': Driver attacked and racially abused
Mohammed Zubair, a taxi driver for Cresta Cars, had picked up David Platt and a woman in Monsall. Mr Zubair was wearing ‘traditional Pakistani clothes’ including a long robe, because it was the second day of Eid and he was going to celebrate with his family.
They had asked to be taken to a shop in Harpurhey, but then asked to be taken elsewhere and ended up on a ‘dead end’ street. Mr Zubair suddenly felt a punch to the right side of his face.
He ran out of the car in shock while it was still rolling. Platt motioned to the driver about his clothing and said: "Look what you are wearing, P*** b*****d."
Mr Zubair was hospitalised and treated for a fracture to his right cheekbone, as well as an injury to his eyelid. Platt, of Canons Grove, Monsall, was arrested and at trial was found guilty of racially aggravated wounding.
Earlier this month, he was jailed for 20 months.
Knifeman slashed driver in face in 'sadistic' attack
A taxi driver who pulled up in Bury town centre in the early hours had the misfortune to come across Richard McCormack. The driver had stopped to let his passenger withdraw cash from an ATM machine when McCormack, who had just robbed a man at knifepoint, struck.
McCormack, 38, jumped into the back of the cab, putting a knife to the driver’s throat and threatening to kill him unless he handed over his cash. The terrified driver handed over his takings before McCormack stabbed him in the back of the hand.
He ran off after pressing his emergency button, which led the taxi office to call his personal phone. As he ran away, shouting down the phone for help, McCormack chased him.
He stabbed the taxi driver to the back of the head after he had slipped on ice and fell. Then McCormack picked him up and slashed at his face at least four times, almost completely severing his nose from his face.
Prosecutors described the attack as a 'gratuitous and sadistic piece of violence'. In August McCormack was handed a life sentence, and will serve a minimum of 15 years in jail. He pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, two counts of robbery and possessing a knife.
Driver robbed at knifepoint and told 'give me the money'
The driver thought he would be taking his passenger on a routine trip to the hospital. Philip Phythian, 29, had said he wanted to visit his sick mother.
But when the taxi arrived Phythian asked to be taken to a number of other addresses first. The taxi driver, a married father-of-three, 'started to feel alarmed' when the fare then asked to be taken back to the address in Gorton from which he had just been picked up.
At one point Phythian, 29, told the driver to stop the car and pulled out a large knife, pressing it to the driver's stomach. "Give me the money," Phythian said. "Quick, quick. Give me the money."
The driver handed over his evenings takings, £100 in cash, and Phythian got out and calmly walked away. Phythian, who was caught soon after, had been had been released from prison on licence for just two weeks when he committed the robbery.
His barrister told the court that Phythian had struggled to cope with the death of two baby children shortly after they were born, and turned to drugs and alcohol. Phythian, of Lowgill Walk in Gorton, admitted robbery and possession of a knife and in May 2020 was jailed for six years.
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