Taxi drivers draw up list of ‘runners’ as incidents rise during lockdown

DUNDEE taxi drivers have been forced to draw up a blacklist of violent and abusive fare-dodgers amid claims the police will not take them seriously.

A closed social media group has been set up listing names, descriptions, addresses and pictures of individuals who have refused to pay for trips.

In most of the incidents, passengers simply leave the vehicle but, in the worst cases, can become aggressive.

A recent incident saw a taxi vandalised by a passenger on the morning of January 3. Another driver was assaulted by a passenger on Boxing Day.

Local industry workers say when incidents occur, police take days to visit them to take a statement.

It means many drivers now no longer report the more minor incidents.

Police Scotland have insisted taxi fraud and violent behaviour is treated seriously.

Ryan Todd, a taxi fleet operator, said fare-dodging is happening on a “daily basis”. He said: “In an ideal world, the police would turn up and treat incidents as being important but that’s not the case.

“Word can spread that passengers don’t get in trouble for refusing to pay and being abusive.”

One of Mr Todd’s drivers was recently abused by two young female passengers, one of whom threw a vodka bottle at the car, smashing the back windscreen. He said it was three days before the police took a statement.

“The police did trace one of the girls and she agreed to pay £270, but I’d have expected officers to see the driver that night,” he said.

Taxi driver Jim Harris said he founded the group after hearing of an anecdotal increase in “runners”.

Mr Harris, 44, said: “I thought it would help to have a list like this. It’s unofficial but it is helping.

“The boys can sometimes go up to doors blind and it’s not until they see them they realise it’s someone who has done a runner before.

“There’s not much work just now and that one job matters. They might have been waiting for an hour just for someone to refuse to pay. It feels like it has got worse during the pandemic.”

Chief Inspector Ross Fitzgerald, of Police Scotland, said taxi fraud is treated as a criminal matter. He said: “I would ask anyone who has experienced instances of this nature to report it to us.”

He added: “Furthermore, we would encourage anyone who is unsatisfied with the service they’ve received to make a formal complaint. This can be done in person at a station, via an online form or by calling 101.”