REGINA – Some city taxi drivers are calling for partitions in their cabs, following the assault and robbery of a cab driver in Regina over the weekend.
Most cabs have panic buttons and GPS systems, and will require installation of security cameras by mid-2015. But that may not be enough to prevent future attacks – some drivers told Global News they fear working at night.
“Sometimes they don’t have any money and when we demand money from them, they can do anything,” said one driver.
Another said there are parts of Regina his colleagues consider particularly unsafe after dark.
One driver recalls an assault two years ago at 4 a.m. “On Dewdney Avenue, right away they’re fighting with me and (trying to rob me).”
Regina Police Service numbers show there were ten taxi robberies reported in 2013, with a peak of 14 in 2010.
Taxis in some other Canadian cities have partitions between the driver and the back seat passengers. In Regina, individual cab companies are permitted to install barriers of some kind if they’d like to.
“We want our streets to be safe for everyone, regardless of their choice of transportation,” said Kelly Scherr, the city’s Director of Construction and Compliance. “Taxi (drivers) have the same rights to be safe as well.”
Scherr says the city may consider mandatory partitions when safety issues are revisited in June.
“It’s important we have an opportunity to do some research on what the best practices would be in terms of barriers.”
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