PASSENGER watchdogs are demanding a clampdown on violent, drunken and abusive taxi drivers who are responsible for hundreds of complaints each year.

Local authority and police reports — obtained by The Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act — reveal a catalogue of more than 650 alleged offences involving cab drivers in the past year, including assaults, carrying offensive weapons and possessing drugs.

Almost 170 complaints were received from passengers who claimed they had been insulted by drivers and a similar number alleged they were put at risk by dangerous driving. Taxi drivers were also accused of racism, sexual assault, causing criminal damage and overcharging their customers.

While all the complaints were investigated, council officials admit many were not upheld because of a lack of corroboration.

Graeme Millar, chairman of the Scottish Consumer Council, said he was alarmed by the number of complaints and demanded tougher action against rogue taxi drivers.

“Taxis provide an important public transport service and it is worrying that so many consumers are getting a poor level of service,” he said.

“We are concerned that standards are not enforced uniformly across Scotland. Better enforcement will ensure that standards are improved and the public are protected.”

Taxi and mini-cab drivers in Aberdeen attracted the largest number of complaints — almost 190. Most involved rudeness, bad driving and illegal plying for hire. There were two allegations of assault.

In North Lanarkshire, council officials have investigated about 120 complaints, including eight by Strathclyde police.

They include a taxi driver who allegedly assaulted a man and woman in a supermarket car park in Cumbernauld and another who was found in possession of a controlled drug.

Last December, police were called to a car crash involving a taxi driver who was found to be more than twice over the legal limit. An empty bottle of vodka was found in the vehicle.

Another driver has been reported twice over the past year for “smelling” of alcohol. However, his licence will be renewed in May if he attends alcohol counselling.

Glasgow council has investigated almost 60 complaints since 2004, including one from a passenger who claims she was bundled out of a taxi by the driver after complaining that he was driving too fast.

An elderly woman complained about a “truculent, churlish and ungracious” female cab driver who refused to help load her shopping. When she remonstrated with the driver, she is alleged to have slammed on the breaks, dumped the passenger’s shopping on the street and forced her out of her cab.

An internal report produced by Edinburgh council last February detailed 286 complaints since 2001 but warned the number may be the “tip of the iceberg”.

Last night the Scottish Taxi Federation (STF), which represents black cabs, claimed the vast majority of disputes involved the drivers of private hire cars, who it accused of tarnishing the profession’s reputation. It raised concerns that anybody with a valid drivers’ licence, regardless of a criminal record, can apply for a private hire licence.

“There are very few serious complaints against taxi drivers. It’s more in the private hire sector,” said Jim Muldoon, chairman of the STF. “I’m not saying it doesn’t happen in the taxi trade but cases are few and far between. We would like to see more controls of the private hire industry as their behaviour besmirches our members. The police are failing in their duty by not clamping down on unlicensed vehicles.”

Councillor Raymond Hutcheon, convener of Aberdeen council’s licensing committee, said: “We think the standard of taxi driving is very high but there’s a rogue minority in any profession and I feel we have that in Aberdeen. One of the problems in taxi complaints is a lack of corroboration but we take the issue very seriously.”

Additional reporting, Rory Gallivan

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