Driving a cab has always been a tough way to make a living. Hours are long, business is unpredictable, driving conditions are often hazardous and the tips are sometimes as lousy as the passengers` demeanor.
In recent years, though, the worst peril for cabdrivers-violence-has moved way up on the list. Armed robberies, assaults and murders have become a daily risk for cabbies in many cities.
In Chicago, six cabdrivers were murdered last year; three have been killed this year. Driver Abdul Shad was critically wounded in a robbery last weekend.
Understandably, Chicago`s cabdrivers are alarmed, and they want cab companies and the city to do more to protect them. Unfortunately, there`s little agreement as to what should be done.
The one proposal that has fairly widespread support is simply untenable. That`s a suggestion to repeal the city law that bars cabbies from
discriminating against customers. In practice, this would strip taxi service from many minorities and residents of certain sections of the city, which would only wreak a far larger injustice and potential danger than the ones at hand. City Consumer Services Commissioner Caroline Shoenberger was absolutely right to rule out this request.
Other proposals have both merits and demerits. Some drivers are asking the city to require installation of bullet-resistant shields between the front and passenger seats. Just as many drivers, it seems, think the barriers are more trouble than they`re worth. Indeed, when state law required them in Chicago in the 1970s, cabbies complained about the interior windows and, increasingly, just left them open.
There are complaints about the cost-only about $500-and worries that it would translate into higher leasing fees and/or passenger rates. Jeff Feldman, president of the city`s largest taxi company, Yellow Cab Co./Checker Taxi Co., says the shields are ineffective and only prompt more damage claims from riders thrown against them in accidents or quick stops.
Other drivers are suggesting ”panic buttons” or distress-signal lights that might bring help more promptly. But the speed with which most assaults occur could strip these devices of much of their worth.
Clearly, you can`t make a cab into an impregnable armored car. But worker safety is a legitimate cost of doing business, and major cab companies can`t continue to duck the issue by doing nothing.
Interior shields are being tried in some other cities, and they may well be worth another try here unless or until someone comes up with a better idea. Bullet-resistant side windows could add some protection.
Alarm and radio systems are worth an experimental tryout. Accepting credit cards and making more frequent cash deposits would help reduce a cab`s appeal as a robbery target.
It will be up to the drivers, who are represented by at least a dozen sometimes rival organizations and many of whom are not affiliated at all, to reach some consensus on what they think can help and come back to the city with a reasoned, workable, fair proposal.
