Praise for kind-hearted cabbie who helped customers get to work during early-morning Metro delays

The driver who helped the Metro customers on their way was from Richmond Taxis in South Tyneside.

Katie Barron, 29, was booked on an early-morning train to Leeds on Friday, July 5 when Metro delays struck.

She arrived at Hebburn station at around 6.30am to find a 30-minute wait for the next Metro. She only had 45 minutes to get to Newcastle Central Station for her train.

Instead, Katie jumped in a Richmond Taxi with three fellow passengers to make the journey, arriving at the station with just seven minutes to spare before her train’s departure.

There were delays to Metro services on Friday, July 5 in the early morning.

The fare setlled, one of Katie’s fellow customers prepared to walk up to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) to start her shift; but the taxi driver instead offered to take her there free of charge so she would not be late.

Katie, who works as a PA and lives in Hebburn, said: “It seemed to be his instinct to make sure this woman got to work. It was a nice gesture.”

Steven Pippin, office manager at Richmond Taxis, added: “It’s nice to be praised by one of our customers.”

Katie has also thanked one of her fellow passengers who stepped in to pay her share of the taxi fare when card payment facilities were unavailable.

Katie Barron was one of those in the taxi.

Instead of taking money in return, the man – who was a volunteer at the Freeman Hospital in Heaton – instead asked for a donation to Macmillan Cancer Support, which Katie has made.

She added: “It was just so lovely – you just don’t expect that of people these days.”