Parsons Green terror attack: Taxi drivers giving free lifts to people affected by the tube explosion

'It's just what we do'

Emergency service workers near the crime scene at Parsons Green (EPA/WILL OLIVER)

Taxis in West London have been offering free rides to people caught up in the terror attack at the Parsons Green underground station.

Drivers who had finished night shifts reportedly returned to work to help evacuate terrified commuters.

Helping out is “what we do,” said Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licenced Taxi Driver’s Association.

He confirmed black cabs had helped evacuate people from Parsons Green free of charge following the attack.

“We’ve done it since the IRA and we’ve got other weird rules as well, like if we’re going to Great Ormond Street Hospital, sick kids don’t get charged. It’s just what we do.

“If someone comes out of Parsons Green station and wants to go to Edinburgh, they’re going to pay. But if you’re just helping people getting away from the scene who are frightened and get them to the next tube station or bus stop we don’t charge them.

“No one wants to make money from people’s misery.”

Local cab company Hayber Cars offered lifts to people free of charge following the incident.

"All our drivers are out," a company spokesman told The Sun, adding that employees who had done the night shift had returned to work.

"We're offering free rides to help people out."

Ride-hailing app Uber also said trips taken using its service would be refunded and the company’s ‘surge’ charge had been switched off.

The company was also criticised after the London Bridge attack earlier this year, when people attempting fleeing the area were charged high fares. On that occasion it also switched off surge price and refunded the customers.

At least 22 people were injured by the Parsons Green blast, which Scotland Yard is treating as a terrorist attack.

A manhunt has been launched to find the person who planted a suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

Other local residents offered to open up their homes to people affected by the explosion.

On Twitter, Katy Dunn said: "If anyone is feeling shocked or confused at Parsons Green, I'm round the corner and the kettle's on."