The dramatic video of a Hamilton cab driver being robbed by three women with a knife and a hammer earlier this month has brought driver safety back to the forefront, even as one cab company operator says incidents are down because drivers don't carry the kind of cash they used to.
Ejaz Butt, a past president of the Ontario Taxi Worker Union and now a part-time driver, said the robbery would have never happened if Hamilton taxis used a shield between the front and backseats.
The cab did have a camera that provided video of the incident to help police with the investigation, but Butt said that doesn't help the driver in a moment of distress.
"The camera is an after-the-fact item. It does not provide any safety to the driver," Butt said. "The shield is the active defensive tool for the driver."
'We've gone down this road a million times'
In the robbery, three women entered the cab on a cold night with their faces covered with scarves and their hoods up. Once inside, the passenger behind the driver put a knife to the cab driver's neck. Another woman threatened the driver with a hammer while telling him to remove the keys. The driver complied, handing over keys, a small amount of cash and a mobile device. The driver got out of the taxi and watched one woman unsuccessfully try to start the vehicle. The women got out and ran away.
Video of the event, captured from inside the cab, was released by Hamilton Police Wednesday in hopes of identifying the women.
Anthony Rizzuto, president of Blue Line Taxi, dismissed the idea of resurrecting the debate to have shields put in cabs to protect drivers.
"No, we've gone down this road a million times," Rizzuto said. "At the end of the day if you want to rob a cab driver, they'll get them out of the car. There's always a way around it."
The knife and hammer robbery was not the only recent incident highlighting the safety of taxi drivers in the city. In January, a woman was charged for throwing vomit at a driver. Less than two weeks ago, another driver was slashed on the hand.
Anecdotally, Rizzuto said robberies are "way down," although Blue Line does not track robbery numbers. Hamilton Police did not immediately return emails seeking numbers on robberies.
"There's no cash anymore in our business. It just seems a little bizarre," Rizzuto said. "We're just not a target anymore. We just don't carry the cash."
Cameras vs. shields
Hamilton has contemplated requiring shields in cabs before. In 2008, the city began to study the cost of a shield and its effectiveness.
By 2011, city council moved to protect drivers by installing cameras, but opted out of shields. A 2011 Hamilton Spectator story on the decision cited a lack of national standards on shields as a potential liability risk if they failed.
More recently, a January 2014 report to Toronto city council showed that drivers were split on wanting taxi shields.
Of 14,100 surveys that were sent out to drivers in Toronto, more than 3,000 responded. The result was 56 per cent of drivers were in favour of the shield. The report recommended staff do further research. The Toronto report also noted of all the taxi cabs in Toronto, only one driver has voluntarily installed the protective barrier.
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