CALGARY- A week after a Calgary cab driver was charged with the sexual assault of a passenger, Global News reporter Nancy Hixt visited a local training centre to see what safety measures are in place to protect customers.
“My customers are like my family…I have some repeated customers,” said Mohamad Nasser, who has been a taxi driver for nearly 26 years, and wants people to feel safe in his cab.
The recent sexual assault by a cab driver has hit the taxi community hard.
“In anything there’s going to be a bad apple,” said Nasser.
“We are out there to provide the customer with the service and to make sure it’s a safe industry.”
There are 4,500 licensed cab drivers in Calgary—with new drivers trained every day. Each cabbie is screened with yearly criminal record checks, vehicle inspections executed by the city, meter accuracy checks, and regular patrols with taxi enforcement officers. GPS as well as cameras help officials track any problems.
“In 2014, we did 8 million taxi trips, and we had five license hearings related to sexual assault,” said city spokesperson Carissa Vescio.
Watch Nancy Hixt’s report above to learn more about the diverse backgrounds of the cab drivers in Calgary, and get a glimpse into their training classes.
With files from Erika Tucker
Comments