Alleged drug dealing and rudeness amongst Highland taxis complaints
Alleged drug dealing, rudeness and fare disputes were among the 100 complaints made against Highland taxi drivers in the last four years, it has emerged.
Figures released by Highland Council show that a wide range of allegations were made by the public between 2009 and last year.
Among the grievances made to trading standards inspectors was that drugs were being sold from the boot of a private hire cab in Inverness last year
There were also claims about verbal abuse to pedestrians, smoking in the street and overcharging.
One irate passenger also complained that the driver had got to the destination too quickly.
The customer alleged that he had taken the fastest route instead of the shortest and the driver was forced to repay the fare difference. Taxi meters run on the distance travelled, not on the time taken.
Seventy complaints were made in Inverness but there were also unhappy passengers in Ross-shire, Caithness, Sutherland and Fort William but only one grievance in Badenoch and Strathspey.
Almost half of the complaints - 44 – were referred to the police but the council said it did not keep a record of what happened afterwards.
There are currently 786 licensed taxi drivers in the region.
Highland Licensing Committee chairwoman Maxine Smith said the average number of complaints per year was relatively low but establishing corroboration was often difficult.
Vic Rawlings, the chairman of the 80-member Inverness Taxi Alliance, said most Highland drivers were well-behaved and made an effort to treat passengers with respect.
"I think that the majority of taxi drivers, with the odd one or two unnamed exceptions, the general perception is that we give a good service but there is always room for improvement," said Mr Rawlings.
"We are all out there to earn a living. We have to give the best possible service to our customers even if we are having a bad day. I always put a smile on it.
"If a driver gets into trouble with the police, whether it is speeding or crashing [through] a red light, or a fracas between two drivers, I tend to leave it to the police to sort it out."
Highland councillor and experienced taxi driver Norrie Donald said it was a small number of complaints when thousands of journeys were undertaken in the region but he was unhappy with the "sloppy" dress standards of some colleagues.
"I find the majority of drivers are good but I have a big problem with the sloppy dressing," said Councillor Donald, who has held a licence for 30 years. "There is supposed to be a dress code of a shirt and tie which I always wear but you see some of them in jeans and they are dreadfully sloppy."
Councillor Donald also called for a clampdown on drivers using foul language or smoking in their cabs.
"People like that should not be allowed to hold a licence," he added. "There are certain standards which should be adhered too but there are not enough trading standards inspectors about. If they have a complaint I would encourage people to lodge them and it can be done confidentiality."
Councillor Smith, who has been the committee chairwoman since 2012, said the police played a key role in dealing with complaints. "The police can, if they choose, submit an objection to a licence holder continuing to hold a licence," she said.
"In my time as chairwoman I have only heard one taxi complaint which was referred to the committee by the police and this was held in private due to sensitive information. Any other complaints were either dealt with by trading standards, the police, or were unable to be taken further for whatever reason."
Figures breakdown
2009: A total of 15 complaints.Inverness (10); Dingwall (3); one each in Alness and Wick.
2010: 22 complaints. Inverness (13); Invergordon (2); one each in Dingwall, Alness, Thurso, Fort William and Nairn.
2011: 18 complaints. Inverness (17) and one in Sutherland.
2012: 25 complaints. Inverness (16); Fort William (2); Invergordon (2); Nairn (2); one complaint in Badenoch, Dingwall and Wick.
2013 (up to 1st November): A total of 20 complaints. Inverness (14); Wick (3) and one each in Dingwall, Invergordon and Sutherland.
