Taxi Driver Online

This is a from a student publication, and 'Brookes Union' seems to be the students' union at Oxford Brookes University.


001 Taxis gives driver lifetime ban from company following allegation of sexual assault

https://thetab.com/uk/brookes/2021/08/0 ... iver-26470

Brookes Union has ‘requested that all Safe Taxi drivers have refresher training’

A 001 Taxis driver has been given a lifetime ban from the company, after an allegation of sexual assault was posted to social media over the weekend.

001 Taxis is an official partner of Brookes Union, operating the Safe Taxi Scheme.

In a post on Facebook, Brookes Union said it had met with the company after becoming aware of the allegations, and confirmed the taxi driver had been immediately suspended by the company.

001 Taxis told The Tab Brookes said the suspended driver has now been removed – which means he is unable to “engage with” the company and has been given a “lifetime ban from 001 Taxis.”

It said it “does not tolerate” incidents of this nature, and takes customer safety very seriously.

Brookes Union said the taxi journey had not been booked under the Safe Taxi Scheme, which has drivers who are DBS checked and specially trained in working with Brookes students and the Safe Taxi system.

It said it has requested Safe Taxi drivers have refresher training and encouraged students to continue to use the scheme. It said if anyone has any concerns around the drivers’ conduct, they can contact the Union where complaints will be “investigated and dealt with promptly and confidentially”.

Brookes Union said: “We were yesterday made aware of allegations of sexual assault by a 001 taxi driver. As 001 are an official partner of the Union operating the Safe Taxi Scheme, this has been of huge concern to both the Union and 001 Taxis. We are united on our zero-tolerance stance on sexual assault and misconduct.

“The Union has met with 001 to discuss the incident and how we move forwards with this. As has already been stated, we can confirm that the driver in question was suspended immediately and removed from 001’s network. In addition, the council who licence the specific taxi drivers have also been informed.”

The Union went on to say: “The Union is very satisfied with how 001 have responded to this incident, which was not booked under the Safe Taxi Scheme.

“We continue to encourage students to use the Safe Taxi service for the following reasons: Safe Taxi drivers are specially trained in dealing with Brookes Students and the Safe Taxi system.

“Safe Taxi drivers are licensed exclusively by Oxford City Council using enhanced DBS checks and not other surrounding districts so they are more familiar and experienced with the local area and the needs of our students.

“Safe Taxi is accessible to all students 24/7 and available when you don’t have the funds to get home safely.”

Going forward, Brookes Union said: “Moving forwards we have requested that all Safe Taxi drivers have refresher training and are working with 001 to make the Safe Taxi scheme available for cash bookings.

“Due to the relationship we have with 001, if you have any complaints or concerns regarding the conduct of 001 taxi drivers moving forwards, please contact us at the Union and we can ensure this is investigated and dealt with promptly and confidentially.”

When contacted for comment, 001 Taxis said: “We take complaints of this nature very seriously and do not tolerate this at 001 Taxis.

“When Brookes Union initially notified us of the allegation posted on social media, we suspended the driver from our systems and now have removed the driver partner from our systems resulting in him not being able to engage with our company- this will include a lifetime ban from 001 Taxis. We have also escalated this to the relevant licensing authority.

“We have attempted to contact the complainant through Brookes Union but have received no response and to date have not received any formal correspondence on this incident. We continue to work with Brookes Union to ensure that all passengers using our services can do so understanding how seriously we take customer safety.”

To find about more about Safe Taxi click here. If you have concerns or need support, email Brookes Union on su.welfare@brookes.ac.uk.

So 001 Taxis have never spoken to the complainant and there's been no formal correspondence, yet a social media post means the driver has been banned for life

people expect action without accountability the firm probably did the right thing but often in these cases this is probably not the first incident

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Can't see as what ruddy difference it would make in giving drivers refresher courses....if one of thems a sexual predator no amount of courses will change his ways.

Nicely summed up.

I get the suspended bit, during which time the council, or more importantly the police, can investigate, but banning the driver for life on the basis of a third party complaint is shameful.

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IDFIMH

If you don't act the complainant will wage war against you and that is FAR WORSE. I once made the mistake of trying to do the right and fair thing and boy did I reap the whirlwind

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

But if you tell the them the driver is suspended until the council and the police have fully investigated the complaint then they can do one if they don't like it. Or just lie to them.

Loyalty to drivers trumps loyalty to punters.

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IDFIMH

If it involves anything like sexual misconduct the expectation is instant dismissal so the victim doesn't have to actually provide evidence

we did suspend and we asked the victim to put the complaint in writing to the council. They wouldn't do that and the father a local fireman along with some police buddies launched a nasty smear campaign against me not the perpetrator who immediately left and went to work elsewhere and that is the reality you must be seen to be draconian in the way you deal with such matters or they think you are the same

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

It's made the Oxford Mail

Some of it's just a rehash, but seems another driver has been suspended.


Taxi firm offering Oxford students 'safe' ride home drops drivers after sex assault allegations

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19497 ... legations/

A taxi company that offers a 'safe' service for local university students has suspended two drivers following allegations of sexual assault.

001 Taxis, a popular taxi service in Oxford, said it removed both drivers from their company immediately - giving one of the drivers a lifetime ban.

One Oxford Brookes University student claimed a driver put his hand up her skirt and drove her 30 minutes out of her way on July 31.

001 said it was alerted to the incident by Oxford Brookes Student Union, after the alleged incident was shared on a private university page.

While the taxi company said it had received no formal complaint from the alleged victim at present, the driver has been suspended and given a lifetime ban on working for the company.

The second Brookes student said that on July 20 she ordered a taxi at 11.30pm back to her home and when dropped off, was asked by the driver if she would ever consider becoming a sex worker.

The student said: “He asked me a lot of questions about sex work in Poland, sex work in the UK and if I would ever think about it.

“We were right outside my house, and I really wanted to pay, and just leave, but it was taking him so long.”

“It wasn’t until I got home, I thought it was really weird, and I felt as though I was in danger.

“He knew my name and where I lived.

“I felt like I dodged a bullet, I feel sorry for the other girl, in my case it was just an uncomfortable conversation.”

The company said it received a complaint via email and immediately suspended the driver involved.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils, which license the taxis, and Oxford City Council are now involved in investigations into the alleged incidents.

The district councils said ‘potential action’ could be taken against both drivers, ranging from a warning to revocation of the licence.

001 Taxis work with the Oxford Brookes Student Union to provide a ‘Safe Taxi Scheme’. This means that students across the city, even if they do not have cash on them, can use their service to ‘get home safely’.

A spokesperson for 001 added: “We take complaints of this nature very seriously and do not tolerate this at 001 Taxi's.

“The police have not made any contact with us but if they make inquires which relate to any of the allegations, we will provide them with everything they require.

“But we understand the driver partner was released without charge.

“We still remain the safe taxi service provider of Oxford Brookes and we have been in contact with the student union to ensure they are satisfied with our actions.”

A Student Union spokesperson said: “This has been of huge concern to both the Union and 001 Taxis.

“We are united on our zero-tolerance stance on sexual assault and misconduct.”

The union said it was ‘very satisfied’ with how the taxi company had handled the sexual assault allegations.

It added that the student did not book the taxi under the Safe Taxi Scheme.

Thames Valley Police were unable to comment on the allegations.

I'm sure the Union is 'very satisfied'

But driver released without charge and police haven't even contacted 001 Taxis.

In all probablility he's guilty as sin, but have had too many back-of-cab low level accusations from students and others over the years to wonder what might happen if things get out of hand and they post some sort of spurious accusation on social media, or complain to police or council.

Really not how these things work.

If anyone has evidence of wrongdoings, or evidence of an allegation of wrongdoings, it is them that should be contacting the police with whatever info that is. If the police don't need that evidence they will say thanks, but no thanks.

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IDFIMH

If only someone could invent some kind of recording device that you could use in a taxi/PH. That would cover all our arses from issues you outline above.

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IDFIMH

1) the only installer of said devices for the taxi trade is based in Brighton and doesn't go North of Gatwick to install them

2) GDPR compliance is a real headache so not having one simplifies things

3) Many councils DON'T allow the recording of conversations

4) it's all too easy to overwrite the recording especially if the allegations are unexpected and appear weeks later

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Think Edders is bang on about what's potentially a minefield.

Our council doesn't specifically regulate this sort of thing, and I've never really looked into the nitty gritty of the law, but as far as I'm aware audio recording is potentially more of a legal and licensing minefield than video.

And it's generally what's *said* that's the vital issue in the kind of disputes that I'm talking about, as opposed to what would be visible on a video recording.

I suppose prominent signage would make it more legally palatable, but I suspect that would potentially lead to disputes in itself, or even lose some jobs in the first place. On the other hand, I'm guessing passengers are generally more accepting of video recording without sound.

My experience with CCTV is that audio is a big plus when it comes to the lower level of complaints, be that criminal or licensing matters.

Footage only is a big plus when it comes down to the serious stuff like sexual or violent attacks.

Of course some of us have both because we insist on it and insist that our data controllers insist on it.

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IDFIMH