Terrified Edinburgh Uber driver has 'stopped taking jobs' due to 'repeat attacks'https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/ed ... d-33784863An Edinburgh private hire driver has stopped taking jobs in several communities across the city after coming under attack. Eva, who has worked for Uber and several other private hire companies, says she has been attacked dozens of times since the pandemic.
She will no longer travel to Muirhouse, Granton, Murrayburn, The Shore, Lochend, Niddrie and Gilmerton after having bricks thrown at her vehicle, stones denting and chipping her doors and youths setting upon her vehicle.
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Eva has complained to police on several occasions about the behaviour but she fears the abuse drivers face in the capital is not being taken seriously.
She said: “It is happening across the city. I was attacked most recently on Hogmanay by a gang of youths throwing stones outside the Greggs.
“They damaged my car, it is ridiculous. When I called the police they were unhelpful, they just acted uninterested and said it is unlikely they would be able to catch them.
“One person told me to just claim on insurance but as a driver we cannot claim on every small thing or our premiums go up. They do not understand it is not simple being a driver.
“Teenagers in Edinburgh are wild. I’ve been targeted with bricks and stones at least six times and with eggs dozens of times.
“In Niddrie last summer I was driving a nurse home from her shift at the hospital when a gang of about ten youths jumped in front of my car at a green light. I had to slam the brakes and I beeped the horn.
“They then surrounded my car and started kicking it. They badly damaged the bumper and I had to pay over £500 to get my car fixed.
“My passenger was terrified and shocked. I called the police again but nothing happened.
“I’ve stopped taking jobs now in places where I have been attacked or I know of colleagues being attacked.”
Eva said she has had to fork out hundreds to thousands of pounds fixing various dents and bumps. She suffered an attack where a brick was thrown at her car in Wester Hailes just one day after having her car checked by the council.
She said: “It feels at the moment like we are gambling with our livelihoods. If I had been attacked one or two days earlier my car would not have passed its assessment.
“We are living in constant fear that something can happen. It is not even just at night, it is happening in the middle of the day.
“I feel constantly under massive stress and pressure. I need to have money on the side all the time, it is a financial pressure having the threat of damages.
“I am working just to cover myself at the moment. Add on the cost of fuel and we are all struggling.
“It is a massive problem.”
Eva added working as a female driver has become extremely dangerous. Not only does she deal with antisocial behaviour but she also has to face the threat of customers making inappropriate sexual remarks.
She said: “I feel we are treated terribly and it is worse if you are a female driver with the type of behaviour we face. I’ve been told before that if I can’t handle it, then I am in the wrong job which is not right.
“Our life is very difficult. We face problems everyday and it is the same for black cab drivers and bus drivers.
“We have to count on ourselves because we are being left without support or protection.”
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