IT has been a troubled year for the taxi industry, with a spate of alleged indecent assaults sullying its reputation.

Some young women have begun to shun cabs and their distrust will grow following today's revelation that 25 drivers have been disqualified or suspended over an 18-month period.

Their behaviour ranges from the simply incompetent to the criminal, including false imprisonment of a passenger, sexual harassment of a disabled passenger, indecent assault and charges of assault with intent to rape or murder.

Passengers are already frustrated by drivers who are unable to find their way around the CBD, let alone the metropolitan area.

This latest bad report card could result in a further loss of confidence in the industry, in which the majority of drivers are law-abiding.

The Transport Department and the industry have been working together introducing Personal Identification Numbers to improve the situation and, more importantly, track down those guilty of serious misconduct and criminal behaviour.

Acting Transport Minister Jay Weatherill says the committee's records prove the reporting system works and that people are using the public transport InfoLine to report problems.

The SA Taxi Council's Peter Johns welcomes the culling of the "bad eggs" as he calls them. "The industry is much better off without them," he says.

The Opposition's call for more policing of the industry by way of extra inspectors – at present there are only four – has merit.

But measures must be introduced quickly to ensure the safety and confidence of passengers is not permanently lost.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20962968-5006336,00.html