Today in Adelaide taxi drivers across the city are protesting in various ways against the recent surge in violent attacks on cabbies, there will be a group gathering at Elder Park to then march on Parliament House and others will be hanging black flags from their cab windows and distributing flyers to their passengers.
This comes after stories continue to emerge about bashings and attacks, especially on night time drivers. Driver Inderjit Jassal ended up in hospital after he refused to carry five people in his four-seater cab, he was punched repeatedly in the face. Another driver he knows suffered similar injuries in a separate incident on the same night and has lost vision in his left eye. Many drivers have since left the industry due to fears for personal safety while on the job.
Deepak Bhardwaj, who represents Taxi Drivers and Operators United has said in a statement that “We don’t want to disturb normal working hours, we just tell everybody to drive taxis, do your normal work but do let people know that we have deep concerns.”
The aim today is to raise awareness of the matter nationally, as it appears to be something that gains little media attention, and to seek community support.
via ABC
