- Driver's protest after murders - John Raptis
It's Saturday night in Melbourne. The final stages of qualifying for the Grand Prix are over and the big race is tomorrow. Large crowds venture out into the bright lights of the city looking to dance and drink the night away. Everyone is smiling and laughing.
The clock draws closer to 12 and, for many who choose to work the late shift, the night is just beginning.
Between the hours of Midnight and 4am it can be difficult finding a cab home.
What started out as just one drink has turned into ten. Large groups of the "just one drink" and the "one drink too many" pour out onto the streets. They stand on the side of the road with a hand in the air, hoping to strike yellow gold. "Taxi!"
Catching a Cab
For females of any age the trip home can be dangerous. In Sydney, Jess Loiterton's ordeal was covered heavily in the media in 2008 as taxi issues came to the forefront of news coverage. At the start of March this year courts refused bail for a 21-year-old taxi driver on charges of alleged rape in Melbourne late last year.
For males, their journey can present a different challenge. Many young Melburnian men may have experienced the difficulty of waving down a cab on a busy weekend. In the city it is not unusual to see young men kicking at the side panel of the cab as it speeds off. Who is to blame for this act of aggression? The taxi driver who is scared of the young males with bottles in their hands or the group of young men who feel discriminated against? In January this year a driver was beaten near Geelong, after stopping his car because the passengers refused to pay, The Herald Sun reported.
23-year-old Eyubb Zaim is serving a 14 year sentence for the killing of 27-year-old taxi driver Rajneesh, which he committed in 2006. In 2008 after a series of attacks against taxi drivers, the government made security screens mandatory to protect both passenger and driver inside the cab itself (www.theage.com.au/news/national/cabbie-safety-protest-jams-cbd/2008/04/30/1209234897135.html). The economics and politics of the upgrade, however, eventually won out six months later and it appeared that the protests at Flinder's St Station had come to nothing. To this day only a fraction of taxis in Melbourne have the protective screens.
Old News
Unfortunately this is not a new issue. The battle for driver and passenger safety stretches back decades and has yet to be resolved. Every year marks another tragic event which could be avoided. Melbourne is even at a point where the drivers are not safe from themselves. In July of 2009 witnesses were shocked to see a Silver Top driver and a Yellow Cabs driver wrestling in Kavanagh St, South Melbourne over a fare.
Solutions
Overcharging of cabs is one issue that authorities are beginning to address. But both the public and the taxi industry need to be accountable for their actions. If the relationship between taxi driver and passenger is going to improve, there needs to be a change in social attitudes.
In England, Black Cabs have security screens protecting the driver from potential attacks. In October 2009. The Coventry Telegraph reported on Ken Roberts of Eastern Green who survived a knife attack because of a metal security grille installed in the cab.
What is the price of a life? If placing security screens in all cabs is enough to save one life, is that not worth the expense?
Perhaps it is time for authorities to finish what they started two years ago... once they are finished cleansing the happy cab (http://www.news.com.au/smile-wiped-off-happy-cabbies-face/story-0-1225701335765_
Andrew Smith - Andrew's credentials include rolling cheese down a hill in England, dancing ‘til sunrise in Prague, and sailing around the islands ...
