FEW NIGHT TAXIS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 270, 10 August 1943, Page 6

FEW NIGHT TAXIS

Drivers Take Action For

Protection RESULT OF ASSAULTS AND ROBBERIES .

Frequent “beating-up” of drivers, culminating in two armed robberies during the weekend led to remarkable developments in the operation of taxi services in Wellington last night. Though the night was a stormy one, and cabs were in demand, only a skeleton roster was being maintained compared with that usually available. Three cabs only out of a fleet of over 50 belonging to one company were available, and out of a “double-headed” roster 25 drivers did not report for duty between 5.30 and 9.30 p.m. Sixteen drivers out of 23 attached to another company went home at nightfall, though they were assigned for duty between 6 and 10 p.m.

The practical cessation of these services was stated to be due to the drivers’ request for adequate protection from many attacks reported to have been made on them by certain visiting servicemen whose main form of persuasion in inducing drivers to comply with their demands has been the use as weapons cither of bottles or belts wrapped round their hands to form knuckle-dusters. ■ Taxi-drivers in the city said last night that such an intolerable situation had been reached that eome action would have to be taken, and indicated that there was a likelihood of very few cabs being available for the use of these servicemen. Commenting that the trouble had been going on for more than a year, Mr. W. Duncan, principal of the Wellington Taxi Conipany, said an appeal had been made to the Taxi-cab Control Committee for protection, but nothing seemed to have been done. “If these kind of servicemen cannot get a cab when they want it,” he added,' “they either smash the ear up or -bash the driver. If they are in the main streets they slam the doors with sufficient force to break the glass.” “Nine out of 10 of the requests made by these men,” stated a driver who acted as spokesman for seven others who made a united protest with him, and who all gave accounts of assaults made on them at various times, “are to be taken to a brothel or to a sly-grog place. When they do not get what they want, they abuse and threaten the drivers. Thirty per cent, of them do not pay their fares. They go into some place and just do not come out. They fight in the cabs, all of which are getting badly knocked about: they spit in them, throw down cigarette butts inside, spill beer, and generally about wreck the inside of the cars. It takes hours to clean out the vehicles next day. One tore the door off my car against a post deliberately, and that cost me £5. “Many women ring up in the early hours of the morning to say there is an urgent hospital case, and when our drivers arrive they find that the car is wanted for one of these servicemen with whom they ha.ve been consorting. The women, too, are of a very undesirable type, and a blot on Wellington. At other times we are forced to take these men as passengers. Most of us own our own cabs and wish to maintain our private connexions. Servicemen rush the cabs in the streets when the cabs, are wanted or on their way to a priority job, and refuse to get out till they are taken where they want to go. Then we get blamed by the public, who say our cars are always full of servicemen.” Armed Hold-up. Two armed hold-ups are reported to have occurred in Wellington on Saturday night. The gfirst was in Sutherland Road, where a gun was presented at a taxi-driver by a passenger who had been picked u.p near the railway station at 10.5 p.m.. and asked to be taken to Newtown. The man, who relieved the driver of £9, said he had more business to transact, and that it was handy to have a uniform. Later that night another taxidriver was held up in the same locality and robbed of about £GO. More than one person was involved in- this case, and they had with them a well-known type of military conveyance. On Saturday afternoon when a driver was answering a call to do a hospital job, the use of hisc cab was demanded by five overseas servicemen, who backed up their request by taking off their belts in a threatening manner, but a temporary distraction enabled a policeman to be called, and the driver left while he was questioning the men.

Numerous alleged assaults on drivers have been reported, with threats that they would be “beaten up” if they did not take servicemen late at night beyond the ten-mile limit, within which the cabs operate. A young driver was compelled to go on to Silverstream from Hutt after he had received a gentle tap on the skull and a broken bottle was flourished menacingly at him. Recently another driver was attacked by four men at Wadestown, and so severely injured that he had to be taken to hospital- He was off work for a week. Two weeks ago, near Kaiwarra, a driver was kicked and punched, his teeth were broken and he was badly marked.' Not long ago, while a driver was visiting his wife in a hospital in Willis Street, he was unable to comply with a request by visiting servicemen, While he was away they ripped every door handle off the car, and he had to break a window, to get inside. Three men rushed an “engaged” cab in Willis 'Street, snd wanted to be taken to Hutt Park at 8.30 p.m. They were refused, and tried to drag the driver out of the car. They were going to “beat him up” when a patrol intervened. Another grpup of servicemen compelled a driver to take them to Paekakariki under threats. Drivers Retaliate. However, there have been instances when they have not hnd it all their own way. An officer who was alleged to have attacked a young woman in a car was driven round to the police station and given in charge. A trio on another occasion threatened to thrash a driver at Kaiwarra, but he was of sturdy build and grapped one of them, saying he would “finish” him if they attacked. They changed their minds. Servicemen have even smashed in doors and caused disturbances at taxi-stands, it is stated. One met his Waterloo when he attacked a driver at 6 o’clock last night- He was struck a heavy blow on the face with a jack-handle, and was in n sorry state when a patrolman advised him to move on. ' “It almost amounts to a war at present.” said a taxi-stand manager. “These servicemen hunt only in packs, as they ar.e not worth 2d. by themselves. It is all very well to pander to sentiment, but we don’t want gangsterism and lawlessness introduced here. There are some very low-type women keeping company with them, and they use filthy language" when they ring up late at night and cannot get a cab. They indulge freely in abuse and obscenities. It looks ns if things are getting completely out of control.” He added that he realized that the powers of the civil police in dealing with these servicemen were somewhat circumscribed.