Older cabbies facing the brunt of attacks
OLDER drivers are bearing the brunt of increasing abuse, harassment and physical attacks, Cairns taxi operators have told the Cairns Post.
Taxi driver Sukhjinder Singh said violent incidents like an attack this month on a driver in Manunda were not isolated events.
A driver was repeatedly punched in the face by passengers he picked up in Manunda, according to Mr Singh, after an argument broke out inside the taxi over seating for a wheelchair-bound passenger.
“(There are) an increasing number of incidents in the taxis and the people who are doing that aggression are still able to get a taxi,” Mr Singh said.
Older taxi drivers were more frequently subjected to physical attacks and verbal abuse by passengers, Mr Singh said.
“Even if an incident happens in town where they attack a driver, that passenger is not banned or black-listed straight away,” he said.
The drivers have called on taxi operator Cairns Taxis to implement a system of temporary or permanent bans on *Competition runs Monday, 14th May, 2018 till Sunday, 27th May, 2018. For full terms and conditions go to: cairnspost.com.au/competitions violent or abusive passengers.
Cairns Taxis fleet services manager Chris Balsom said the company worked very closely with drivers who are assaulted through an established incident review process after any activation of their alarm, which is fitted in every taxi.
Cairns Taxis is legally obliged under its contract with the State Government to provide transport services to all people, which prevented the company from banning anyone from calling a taxi, Mr Balsom said.
Personal information of passengers is not collected by the company and the booking system does not allow the company to collect the personal information required to implement a passenger ban, according to Mr Balsom.
“Our biggest concern is that everyone has access to public transport, and that everyone, including the drivers, gets to their destination safely,” he said.
A taxi passenger whose behaviour was deemed harassing or abusive by one driver may not present a problem for their next taxi driver, Mr Balsom said.
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