A SCHEME to ensure visitors to Sunderland get a warm and helpful welcome has been hailed a success – by the hundreds of City Greeters challenged to do the welcoming.

Station Taxis, Sunderland’s biggest taxi firm, was among the first to sign up for City Greeters when the scheme was launched just before the phenomenally successful Take That concerts at the Stadium of Light.

City Greeters – who assist people to easily and safely navigate the city and its bars, restaurants, hotels and, of course, the Stadium of Light – will be out in force throughout the Sunderland Live Fringe Festival, which reaches a climax when the Kings of Leon perform at the stadium on June 17.

However, Station Taxis has pledged its near 200 vehicles and more than 400 drivers to the welcome scheme indefinitely.

“Being a City Greeter isn’t just a summer job for us, it’s a vocation,” says Trevor Hines, Managing Director of Station Taxis.

“It doesn’t matter if you are hailing a yellow cab in New York, a black cab in London or a white Station cab here in Sunderland, passengers have come to expect a little more than just transportation from their taxi driver – and that’s a warm welcome and an honest and reliable source of information.”

More than 54,000 concert goers descended on the city over the five days from May 27-31 to see the start of Take That’s sell out Progress Live tour – the band’s first tour as a reformed five-piece since Robbie Williams re-joined the band.

Says Mr Hines: “Then impact on the city’s economy must have been tremendous. There were intense periods on the nights of the concerts when our phones were ringing off the hook and we estimate business was up by at least a third over the whole period.”

And with more major events looming on the calendar, the City Greeters are braced for the busy summer to continue.

They include the Sunderland City 10K Run on June 26, Sunderland Festival – a four-day celebration of the city’s links with America – on July 1-4, Sunderland International Airshow on July 30-31, Sunderland Folk Festival from August 27-29 and the Split Food and Drink Festival on September 17-18.

City greeters wear T-shirts and badges so they can be easily identified, and carry pocket sized guides giving detailed information about the city and its facilities. Other organisations backing City Greeters include public transport operator Nexus, the University of Sunderland and the National Glass Centre.