As Victoria’s taxis begin fitting new higher definition cameras to assist the fight against assaults on drivers, there is mounting evidence that such attacks are escalating and becoming increasingly violent.

David Samuel, Executive Officer of the Victorian Taxi Association (VTA) – the peak body for the major service providers in Victoria – says that despite the use of cameras and the introduction of safety screens, taxi drivers have never been in more danger.

“There’s an increase in the number of assaults, but of more concern is the increase in the seriousness of these assaults. We’re seeing a lot of knives being used, and we’ve had incidents recently where handguns have been put to drivers’ heads.” Samuel’s grim summary of the situation comes after a spate of incidents in recent weeks in metropolitan Victoria. The government department responsible for overseeing the industry and the welfare of both drivers and passengers is the Victoria Taxi Directorate (VTD).

Since July, the VTD has been implementing a phased introduction of ‘next generation’ taxi safety cameras and the phasing out of older models. Safety cameras, and the number of downloads of images from them requested by the police of the VTD, provide the only verifiable data on the scale of the problem, as each download represents a serious incident that has been reported.

Because a taxi is off the road and not earning when images are downloaded, many incidents are left unreported, therefore the downloads represent the tip of a very large and growing iceberg. A VTD spokesman told Neos Kosmos that in the 12 months up to July 2011, at the behest of the Victoria Police, VTD undertook 175 downloads, equating to more than three serious incidents a week. But the Victorian Taxi Association believes the frequency of downloads has increased dramatically over the past two months. “What we know at the moment is the VTD is downloading about nine cameras a week, and that’s of real concern,” says Samuel. “There’s always been runners and fare evasion, but there’s now a lot more random violence.”

The Australian Taxi Drivers Association (ATDA), based in Sydney, maintains that the technical limitations of even the latest safety cameras, without the ability the ability to record video and audio, fall short of what is required. The ATDA says that confidence in the police’s ability to catch perpetrators is at an all time low, given that it is optional for the police to follow up a case after a picture has been downloaded, and prosecutions are rare.

In the most recently researched report on assaults on cab drivers undertaken by the NSW Ministry of Transport, 22 per cent had experienced being robbed, while 16 per cent had been the victim of a physical assault. In the study, NSW drivers confirmed that assaults are severely under-reported, with 56 per cent of drivers who were physically assaulted, not reporting the incident.

Michael Jools, president of the ATDA told Neos Kosmos that the situation in NSW is much the same, if not worse, since the research was undertaken in 2007. “The figures are horrendous and they will be much the same in Victoria. Neither state government has done much in the way of introducing security systems which can improve that situation. Jools is adamant, that until state-of-the-art video recording systems, operating 24/7 and which utilise the connectivity of the internet are installed, there’s little hope of improving the situation.

The ATDA president says that such a system could be rolled out for less than $5000 per taxi.

“In terms of the cost to the community and to the individuals, that’s chickenfeed. We’ve investigated and costed a system that’s ready to go now,” he says. To meet the costs, Jools believes a levy on fares (as NSW successfully introduced to pay for the introduction of safety screens) would be palatable to passengers who would welcome the further protection. All the available statistics in NSW and Victoria point to the fact that the technology introduced to date, is having little or no effect. Perhaps it’s the evil-eye pendant that swings from Melbourne taxi driver George Bobbopoulos’ ignition key that keeps him safe.

George is a big man with a naturally congenial nature which may be another reason he’s had relatively few run-ins with belligerent passengers. Perhaps he’s just been lucky. An owner-operator who has been in the business since 1999, George agrees that technology, as it stands, has minimal effect.

“We’ve had cameras for a number of years and drivers are still being bashed. It’s not the cameras that are going to save us, and safety screens have minimum effect.” George believes a driver’s safety is more often than not, reliant on communication skills.

“It’s more about our way of talking and understanding how people operate. My golden rule is once you make someone laugh or smile in the car, whether it’s a short or a big fare, it’s going to be a good fare.”

While VTA’s David Samuel agrees that communication skills can help diffuse a situation in situations where arguments might turn physical, the real danger lies elsewhere. “Most people who commit serious assault or steal a driver’s earnings have set out to find and rob a taxi. These crimes are premeditated, they’re not spur of the moment.” Stelios (name withheld) has been driving the streets of Melbourne for 25 years.

“This is nothing new. It’s a big problem which the public doesn’t know about because it doesn’t get in the newspaper so much,” he says. As for cameras, he’s steadfastly unconvinced. “How they going to find the person? How many assaults have been prosecuted?” asks Stelios rhetorically, before sharing a darker opinion, involving the wheel brace he keeps stowed under his seat: “The camera is there, okay, but if something happens to me, I’ll be the judge, jury and executioner.”

‘Manos’ (name withheld) works 12-hour shifts, heading out into the Melbourne inner-city dawn often seven days a week. He works the daylight hours, when the major hassle is traffic. At night, it’s an altogether darker experience. “The cameras are a partial deterrent,” says Manos, “but for many passengers wanting to make trouble, they don’t care a hoot if they’re photographed; they’ll do it regardless. I used to work nights, but I prefer the day shift now: I have a family. I take the old grannies to the hairdresser. The worse they can do is get a walking stick and clobber you over the head.”

In May, the Victorian Government began a wide-ranging inquiry headed by Professor Allan Fels AO into the industry. Its recommendations for reforms to create better outcomes for passengers and greater security for drivers, are due by mid-2012. Meanwhile, the meters are ticking. In the next twelve months some 24,000 accredited taxi drivers in Victoria will make around 35 million pick-ups, but what’s round the corner for many, is a nightmare fare that will end in robbery, assault or worse.