1,000 complaints about cabbies in just three years PASSENGERS have made almost 1,000 complaints about taxi drivers in just three years – including allegations of drink-driving, a rape and a stabbing.
Other gripes include overcharging, smelly cabs, dangerous driving and abusive cabbies.
In one incident a taxi parked without its handbrake on rolled down a hill and smashed into a car.
More than 800 of the complaints have been made about Stoke-on-Trent cabbies – with half relating to poor 'attitude, behaviour and customer service'. A further 188 complaints have been made about taxi drivers in Newcastle.
It comes after The Sentinel reported this month that Tunstall taxi driver Mohammed Shamraiz was jailed for eight months for sexually assaulting a drunken woman in his cab.
Customers have been left stunned by the scale of the grievances. Wheelchair user Michelle Cooper, aged 54, of Stoke, said: "I know of some people who are being charged three times too much for fares.
"The taxi drivers are hit and miss. You get some really helpful drivers who carry your shopping. But others are very arrogant and rude and treat you worse than a second-class citizen."
Ross Irving, of Cobridge, uses taxis frequently for getting around and on weekends.
The 25-year-old said: "It's a mixed bag. Some are very pleasant and others are miserable and drive dangerously. I've been in a car in Hanley where a taxi driver was doing 60mph in a 30mph road.
Pam Bryan, secretary of the Stoke-on-Trent Area Network for Disability (Stand), said members regularly complained about drivers. She added: "Some private hire firms are absolutely marvellous but others are not. Some drivers will park in disabled bays and when a person complains they get abused."
Details of the complaints made to the borough council include:
•A Hackney carriage driver acting aggressively and swearing at a family
•A cabbie being rude to council staff after three failed MOT tests
•Attempted theft of a mobile
•A driver allegedly under the influence of alcohol
However, taxi drivers today defended their record, saying a complaint doesn't necessarily mean a driver is guilty.
Tariq Mahmood chairman of the Newcastle and Kidsgrove Taxi Association, said: "There are some drivers who do overcharge but that's unfortunately out of my control. Complaints I've dealt with have gone down 90 per cent."
Dave Currie, regional secretary of the National Private Hire Association, added: "Private hire operators in Stoke-on-Trent move about 14-and-a-half million people a year. In terms of the complaints, that's a fraction of that number.
"It always has to be remembered that just because a person complains, it doesn't mean it's always justified."
According to Stoke-on-Trent City Council, there are 184 Hackney carriages, 1,186 private hire vehicles and a total of 1,704 licensed taxi drivers.
Licensing manager Rachel Wallwork said she 'wasn't worried' by the statistics given the amount of drivers in the city.
She added cabbies undergo rigorous training, disclose convictions and have a medical certificate. She said: "Sometimes the driver hasn't done anything wrong. We monitor firms to ensure they have responded to the complaint and each complaint is investigated."
Read more:
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/1-000-co ... z3mXwmDatf
Login
Register
FAQ
