In a bid to help those who have been affected by the Manchester bombings, TOA taxis have raised just over £2000. Half the amount was raised by collecting donations from every black cab driver on the ranks in Birmingham City Centre and Birmingham International Airport. The other half of the money has been kindly donated directly by TOA Taxis, matching the total amount collected by all of the black cabs in Birmingham.

On May 22nd 2017, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at Manchester Arena following a concert by American singer Ariana Grande. The blast killed 22 victims and left 116 individuals injured. The deceased include 10 people under the age of 20, the youngest an eight-year-old girl.

The whole nation has been shocked by the attack and communities are coming together to support those affected by the dreadful event. Birmingham based taxi firm, TOA Taxis, have been doing their best to collect as much money as they can for the victims and families of those who were killed or were injured. Ram Singh, TOA taxi driver and member of the TOA board of management, has been leading the collection and has been taking time out of his day to walk down the ranks throughout the City and Birmingham International Airport, gathering funds with TOA staff from all black cab drivers to raise as much money as possible in support of the devastating aftermath of the attack.

TOA first formed in 1961, starting initially with circa 25 cabs. The company now boast an impressive 380 cabs, covering the whole of Birmingham.

Imran Akram, Secretary at TOA Taxis, comments: “The Manchester cabbies did a valiant job in taking people from the stadium home for free. This is the least we could do to support the victims of the tragedy.”