Does emailing licensing@edinburgh.gov.uk achieve anything? I was harassed by a taxi this evening - I want the driver to face some sort of penalty for their behaviour but previous experience suggests I'm onto plums. Is there anything else I can do? I don't think the incident was serious enough for the police.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help
Complaining about taxi drivers
(18 posts)- Started 4 years ago by c30c60
- Latest reply from neddie
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Posted 4 years ago #
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Has done in the past.
Not aware of any reduction in diligence, though I seem to remember at least one person on here has been disappointed with scale of action.
Generally it’s ‘driver has been spoken to and a note attached to his/her record’.
Posted 4 years ago # -
The website changed earlier this year to say "Please direct matters of alleged criminality or breaches of road traffic laws to Police Scotland and not the licensing service", which suggests to me they were so inundated by reports of rubbish driving that they no longer want to deal with them. This is a bit crap, I keep meaning to take it up with my councillor.
Posted 4 years ago # -
What others said.
I've reported illegal ranking (at the Balmoral) to that e-mail address, as well as a taxi driver getting out of his cab and shouting in my face - which I didn't bother reporting to the police. Both of which I got similar responses for - "The driver has been interviewed and a note placed on his record".
I did try to report one driver for using his phone while driving, but the licensing folk said that it's a police matter and wouldn't take any action, and the police did the usual "Well, we can't tell for certain it's a phone, it could be a satnav" (It was clearly a phone, and even if it was a satnav, it's still illegal to be fiddling with it while driving along with a passenger).
Posted 4 years ago # -
Thanks for your replies. One taxi driver said to me recently "Report me, nothing will happen". As suggested by urchaidh I'll write to my councillors, although their previous responses about road safety have been of the "I know it's awfy, but what can you do?" sort.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Wondering if it's worth a FOI request, number of complaints against taxis drivers and a breakdown of number of complaints logged against drivers?
Posted 4 years ago # -
There are a few FOIs on this theme already, with a couple due to be "published in a report to the Regulatory Committee on 09 January 2020".
I've emailed my councillors. Might it be worth trying to take this up with the Active Travel forum? My argument is that aggressive-but-licensed taxi drivers are a bar to encouraging the uptake of cycling, especially in the central areas where they roam in packs.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to complain about Edinburgh black cab #894.
On Tuesday 21st May 2024 at around 21:15, my colleague and I were carrying out volunteer work by cargobike, travelling east along Princes St in the inside lane. In front of us, there was also a young woman riding a bicycle. On doing a shoulder-check, I noticed a black cab approaching behind us in the outside lane whose driving seemed aggressive and at estimated speed of 35 to 40mph in a 20 zone. He passed us, but not the young woman, only to have to stop in front of us at the next red light at Frederick St, where we all waited for around 1 minute.
My colleague and I remarked on the aggressive driving, the pointlessness of the overtake, and made a note of his taxi number (#894) and appearance. The driver was a middle-aged white male with grey hair. There was no communication with the driver at any time during the incident.
When the light changed, the young woman at the front of the queue set off, travelling straight-on from the inside lane, as traffic regulations allow. Taxi #894 was travelling behind her and wanted to turn left into Frederick St, having to wait for the young woman to clear the junction. At this point, he gave a long blast (around 20 seconds) on his horn, presumably due to impatience. This was very intimidating and frightening to the young woman. At the next junction, we asked her if she was OK (the taxi was gone by that point) and she said she was, but she appeared shaken. We offered her the taxi number, in case she wanted to report it.
This incident occurred next to tram tracks which can be very dangerous to people riding bikes if they become pressured or intimidated by nearby motor vehicles. Indeed, there was a fatality in the West End under similar circumstances in 2017, when Zhi Min Soh (23) was killed.
Women, in particular, should not be intimidated or subject to aggressive behaviour from other road users.
Please could you take action with the driver of this taxi to ensure this kind of incident never happens again. Please also let me know what action is taken and the outcome.
Yours sincerely,
neddie
Sent to taxi licensing
Posted 5 months ago # -
Shocking, but not surprising. I'd go to the police with this if you can find the time, I believe taxi licencing won't act on bad driving.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Seconded on the police aspect - I've been told before that the licensing folk can only act if it's a breach of license conditions, and apparently driving like a wazzock isn't.
The police won't do anything of course, but perhaps it'll be noted somewhere...
Posted 5 months ago # -
Sorry, I just don't have the time to take this up with the Police, even if he is a repeat offender that may eventually harm someone. It already took me an hour to write that email and filter it to make it clear and take out any antagonistic language.
It's surely in the interests of the taxi trade to weed out dangerous and incompetent drivers, when other good drivers' living depends on it...
Posted 5 months ago # -
I had a positive response from taxi licensing a couple of years ago although it was for a more minor infraction. The same taxi used to regularly park overnight at the entrance to the west bound segregated cycle lane on Portobello Road blocking it.
I sent in photos from three different occasions in the complaint e-mail to demonstrate it was not a one off. I also persuaded another cyclist to also complain at the same time which I believe they did. Licencing office emailed to say they would contact the driver. Might be a coincidence but from then on I have seen the taxi park on Portobello Road numerous times but not at the entrance to the cycle lane apart from once.
I guess receiving more than one complaint and showing the same repeated infringement was enough to persuade the licensing office into action.
The reason for licensing taxi drivers is to protect the public. It is rather ironic that the biggest risk drivers of taxis/private hire vehicles/ubers etc. present to the public is through the standard of their driving yet this appears to be the very behaviour that the Licensing Office are so reluctant to regulate.
Posted 5 months ago # -
@duddingstondomestique
Very good rule of thumb on complaints
Multiple people making the same complaint multiple times becomes harder to ignore.
I think 50 per cent of taxi drivers are professional drivers and fifty per cent are nutters.
Either criteria appears to make you eligible to. Be a taxi driver?
Posted 5 months ago # -
@gembo.
It appears Edinburgh cyclists need a centralised database of video and photograph footage of taxi driver breaches of road laws!
Posted 5 months ago # -
We could call it… a portal
Posted 5 months ago # -
So Taxi Licensing got back to say they were investigating my complaint
Posted 5 months ago # -
A bit of a long shot but if anyone wants to do some coordinated complaining to the licensing off about taxis/private hire vehicles illegally parking outside St John's RC Primary School on Duddinsgton Road at school drop off time can they PM me please?
As with other schools around the city, a recidivist rump of drivers continually park on pavements and in the cycle lanes. I have noted a few of these have PHV plates. I feel multiple complaints with photographic evidence should compel the licening office to act. It will not eliminate or make a big dent into the problem but we can try to chip away at it.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Got this back from Taxi Licensing, after my complaint above:
Dear,I have spoken to the driver of taxi 894 and he has given a different version of events.
Did the young woman in question wish to contact us to complain? Or did she give you any of her contact information?
I can contact your colleague and get their recollection of events if they’re happy to do so?
Kind Regards
Taxi LicensingSo a liar as well as a bad driver. Who’d a thought it?
Posted 5 months ago #
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