Very often, when a visitor arrives in Bradford for the first time, perhaps via bus or train, the first local person they might have contact with is one of the cab drivers who wait in ranks in the city centre to take people on to their destinations.

Bradford’s Hackney carriages are already uniformly presented in white and green livery to make them easily identifiable, but now it seems that the drivers themselves are getting something of a makeover with a new scheme to be introduced this week.

The plan to have a smart new “uniform” for drivers is a great one and it is encouraging to see that more than 70 of the city’s cabbies have enthusiastically signed up to the scheme already.

It might just be a simple shirt and tie combination but it should go a long way to helping visitors to the city – and those local people who regularly use cabs – to feel a little more impressed.

It’s often said that first impressions count, and climbing into a clean, liveried car driven by a courteous driver who looks smart is perhaps one of the best introductions anyone can have to a new place.

The idea certainly seems to have captured the imagination: according to the organisers of the scheme, confederations of drivers in other cities are already planning to follow suit – no pun intended – and copy Bradford’s lead.

Another old adage is that clothes maketh the man and our new suited-and-booted ambassadors will exude professionalism and, hopefully, give a good name to Bradford’s team of drivers, whether their customers are here for business or pleasure.