Abuse of Bus and Taxi Drivers

Dr Janil Puthucheary asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many cases of complaints of physical and verbal abuses against taxi drivers and public bus drivers were received since 2011; (b) how many criminal charges were filed arising from these complaints; and (c) what steps have been taken to protect the safety of public transport drivers.

Page: 1147

Sir, the taxi operators received 84 complaints of physical and verbal abuses against taxi drivers since 2011, of which six criminal charges were filed. During the same period, 67 cases of physical abuse2 against public bus drivers were reported to the bus operators, of which 41 criminal charges were filed.

Page: 1148

The authorities and the operators take a serious view of any physical or verbal abuse of public transport drivers and various steps have been taken. For instance, the operators conduct training for their public transport drivers on handling difficult passengers. In the event of an emergency, taxi drivers are able to alert their operator call centre by activating a distress button or via their walkie-talkies. The call centre will contact the taxi driver to offer assistance, and alert the Police if the driver cannot be contacted. For public bus drivers, they can seek assistance by activating the emergency button in the driver's cabin. This will alert the Bus Operation Control Centre (BOCC) which will contact the Police for assistance and despatch their traffic inspector to the scene to assist the driver.

Page: 1148