Safest way to travel alone late at night

[Thekormachameleon]

I need to do a trip at the weekend which is about 18 miles, it'll be about 2am

I'm really concerned about getting home safely. What's the safest option? An uber that a friend can track or a pre booked local taxi company ?

Getting a lift from a friend or family member would probably be safest. Then a black cab if in London. I'd say a pre booked taxi company is safer than Uber.

But I've always been fine with a night bus or night tube and never had any issues (though I've not been out that late since before DD1 was born 5 years ago).

Thanks but I don't have anyone to give me a lift and no late bus services or trains here

Take a photo of the cab as you get in. If you are worried be on a call the whole time you are in the car.

I would use a pre-booked mini-cab, although a proper taxi would be better. I'd sit in the back and talk to someone on my phone, or pretend to.

I’d pre book a taxi, but I also wouldn’t be concerned about that kind of journey either, do you live somewhere particularly unsafe?

Will you have a friend who is up at that time? If so I would just make sure you let them know when you set off, share the car make, model and reg, share your location and confirm when you're home. If you do that I don't think it really makes much difference which option you take.

If you don't have that, I think you can set your phone to automatically call someone if you don't press a button preventing it from doing so - can't remember how that works though - but might be worth a Google.

A pre-booked taxi will be fine. If it makes you feel better, then ask the cab Company for the drivers name/car reg and give the info (or pretend to ) to a friend.

Uber is much safer than a pre-booked cab as they can't deviate from the agreed route.

Agree that I think Uber might be safer.

I was in an Uber a few weeks back early evening...6pm ish.

We got stuck in a big traffic jam and I had a message from Uber asking if everything was ok as car had been stationary for a long time.

Also they are not allowed to deviate from the route given to them.

I said to my driver another time that x road was better than y road and he said he had to go the way he was told to .

Have always used pre booked taxis so you have a record of the journey and fare. They will message you of their location and when waiting outside. I can imagine its stressful if not used to this but that's how I've always got home in early hours, only way I could. X

So an uber should be safe as the journey is recorded ?

Planning on calling a friend and making a point of telling them the model abd reg whilst I'm in the car as an extra safety net

Uber is way safer. They are tracked on the app as soon as they take the booking. But driving yourself would be safest.

The make, colour and reg come up on your phone as soon as the booking is confirmed. You can call a friend and tell them in front of the driver, but it seems massive overkill. You're vanishingly unlikely to be assaulted/raped/murdered by a random cabbie. The times it has happened have been shocking because its so unusual.