Saskatoon taxi drivers push for safety shields in vehicles

Taxi drivers in Saskatoon say they're not willing to risk driving after darkout of fear for their own safety.

"Iam not feeling safe in the night time," said Baljit Singh, who has driven a taxi in Saskatoon for the past six years. "In the night time, lots of people, they're stumbling;they're drunk;they're drugged;they don't know what they're doing."

Singh has been punched and stabbed by male passengers on two separate occasions. Earlier this month, he was unable to flag down a police cruiser for help while apassenger was robbinghim.

"I tried to pull over twice in front of the police car, to ask for help and [the officer]totally ignored me," said Singh.

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Drivers want safer working conditions

"There should be safety glass and that's it," said Rizwan Bajaw, who hasdriven a taxi in Saskatoon for three years. "Sometimes we have people that we fear, that we feel maybe they are violent."

MalikUmarDraz, president of United Steelworkers Local 2014, will address the City of Saskatoon's transportation committee tomorrow.

In a letter to the committee,Drazurged officials to hold an "open and frank discussion" on installing Plexiglassafety shields in taxis.

Draz also noted "police response to cab driver calls needs to be improved,"and requested police hold training sessions for new drivers free of charge.

Taxi drivers not eligible for worker's compensation

Cab drivers across Saskatchewan raised money to support IqbalSingh Sharma, the 31-year-old taxi driver in Regina who spent a month in intensive care, after a vicious stabbing in November.

Sharma is struggling to regain speech and his memory, and remains a patient at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre. Although he has a wife and a three-year-old son to support, Sharmawasnot eligible for Worker's Compensation benefits, nor was he covered by SGI after theattack.

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Draz is urging the City of Saskatoon to cover taxi drivers under city bylawsand to protect them from physical assaults.

Saskatoon last updated its taxi bylaw in 2014. The city issueslicencesto taxis, their driversand requires them to run closed-circuit surveillance cameras while passengers are in the vehicle.

Both Regina and Saskatoon have commissioned studies on how best to regulate their taxi industries. Neither city currently has an independent taxi commission.