Taxi patrons log 147 complaints

Authorities have received 147 reports of poor service. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Two people have complained in the past year that taxi drivers refused to take passengers by falsely claiming their car batteries were flat.

The incidents are among 147 complaints released to the Herald on Sunday under the Official Information Act. The complaints were lodged with the New Zealand Transport Agency in the year to April 18.

The most serious cases included one of sexual harassment and 11 of unacceptable and intimidating behaviour.

There were another 16 complaints of filthy language or verbal abuse, and one person said a taxi driver tried to charge them $200 for soiling a vehicle.

Other common concerns included failing to reach a destination on time (19), poor English (11), refusing service (9) and poor driving, such as running red lights (8).

Agency manager Rick Barber said levels were similar to previous years. He encouraged unhappy customers to complain to taxi companies. If that did not resolve the problem, they should contact the agency.

Nine months after three different taxis left her and two friends stranded on a city street late at night, Amy Keene still can't believe how they were treated.

Three drivers refused to pick up the Hamilton early childhood teacher and her friends from Vector Arena in central Auckland in September last year because their Parnell hotel was too close to be worth the fare.

After being forced to walk, Keene complained to the taxi companies but was told nothing could be done because she didn't get identification numbers.

"It was terrible what happened to us. It should really not happen to anyone."

New Zealand Taxi Federation executive director Tim Reddish said the number of complaints was low considering the number of taxi journeys each year.

"There's 8000 taxis on the road and they make millions of journeys each year.

"Auckland Co-Op makes six million journeys a year alone most taxi rides take place without incident every day."

Sometimes complainants were in the right, but they could be mistaken too, particularly when affected by alcohol.

"We're always trying to improve service, and one complaint is too many, but I don't think we've got a big problem."