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P.A. business owner renews call for better security in taxis

May 25, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The owner of a Prince Albert taxi company says a violent incident in the city last weekend highlights the need for improved safety measures for taxi drivers.

Pardeep Kumar, Owner of Checker/Family taxi said it was one of his drivers who was attacked in the early morning of May 20 by two men, while attempting to rob him. Kumar added incidents like the one last weekend happen regularly.

“In the past six months, there could be like 20 of those incidents,” he said.

According to the Prince Albert Police, other cab drivers arrived at the scene and helped the driver restrain a male suspect until officers arrived. Kumar said all the cab drivers have access to an emergency button and the dispatcher is constantly aware of each cab driver’s location.

“The first instructions to [the dispatcher] are to send a location to the other taxis so they can reach that destination,” Kumar said.

Kumar said the driver who was attacked was in shock and is no longer driving at night. He added he has a hard time finding and retaining night time drivers.

“I have a couple requests from the night time drivers to work during the day but I have no positions during the days for now,” he said.

Last fall, Kumar provided input for a city administration report, which would propose security cameras be installed in all the taxi cabs in the city. The report remains in the committee stage.

City Manager Jim Toye told paNOW he could offer no firm timeline for when the report may come back to council. He said the issue was “complicated” and the city has been reaching out to other municipalities for input.

 

 nigell.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell