Taxi Driver Online

Police appeal for taxi driver to come forward

Police have urged a taxi driver to come forward, saying he may have information about a serious sexual assault on a 23-year old woman.

She had been drinking with a male at a nightclub in Edinburgh on Saturday 1st June, before sharing a black cab home to an address in Ormiston.

She later contacted the police to report she had been assaulted during the journey.

Officers are keen to trace the taxi driver to help with enquiries.

The victim was wearing a black and white polka dot dress.

Det Insp Carol Craig said: "We are keen to trace the driver of this vehicle as soon as possible to establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident.

"Any black cab drivers who believe they picked up a couple near the Cav nightclub on the Saturday 1st June, before travelling to East Lothian, is asked to contact police immediately."

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IDFIMH

Not a chance.

The Cabby, even if he didn't realise it at the time, now certainly does, that he allowed an assault to take place in his vehicle (allegedly of course). He aint going to come forward. Someone would have to dob him in.

But it wouldn't be unusual for this cabby to switch off. his interest is getting the punter in, fast forward to drop off, and hold his hand out for the sheckels coming his way.

This is proof of everything we've said about standards in the taxi trade.

Now, I'm not saying everyone is like this. There are still some who hark back to the gentleman cabby days.

But they are increasingly becoming few and far between, sadly.

Too many scruffs, uncaring, inarticulate and unintelligible and self centred cabbies, only concerned with how much they can glean from their selected victim cash cow.

Like the central driver today who drew up to the pick up zone in his M8, bawled out his intended victim's name and the guy went forward and climbed unaided into the vehicle. The only thing missing was the cattle prod to encourage the victim into the car, but then the driver hadn't got off his butt anyway so as to administer such a torture.

And this is not unusual, it is commonplace'

Like the central slouch drivers packing those from RBS into their supposedly executive vans. There's no status accorded to these valued RBS staff, some of whose first impressions must be how they're herded into the van. If they have any status in RBS, you wouldn't know it from the transport service inflicted on them, where the va doors are left open and they make their own way inside, wrestling with their cases to do so. And some of them just slips of girls who would welcome even some meagre assistance.

It's appalling that this happens. That any supposedly professional company perpetrates this. And RBS allows it to happen in the first place, particularly when their staff may be strangers to the company and the city, as is likely as they travel to the training school.

I heard a tale of a private hire driver who berated the no 2 of a mega organisation based in Edinburgh, who happened to be female, for having the temerity to call for him to attend, when her fare would be settled by contract and not ready cash nd the fact he had to come some distance to do the job.

Standards remain poor, and I don't think the public even bother complaining. They just go else where, try another company, or place themselves at some risk with an alternative, like walking.

And by restricting access to the trade, it's not even possible to effectively weed these hapless drivers out. Their poor quality becomes essential, their low standard the norm.

Perhaps we need cameras in all vehicles. And a campaign to ensure that every customer notes the number of cab they're getting into. perhaps even to make it mandatory for the driver to provide them with an ID card for their vehicle they must take away with them.

That would be a quality control.

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Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"