THE attitude of some taxi drivers today leaves much to be desired in terms of courtesy, professionalism and responsibility. A young mother and her 15-month-old daughter were verbally abused and almost knocked down by a city taxi driver on Tuesday night, because she expressed displeasure at his speeding after she had hired him.
The woman (name withheld) told the Guyana Chronicle that, at about 21:00 hrs, she and her daughter were picked up at Norton and Haley Streets to be taken to their East La Penitence destination.
The driver immediately began accelerating rapidly, causing much concern for her and her child; and she promptly asked the driver to reduce his speed, but he ignored her request three times.
Even after she told him to stop and put her off if he couldn’t slow down, he still ignored her requests. Meanwhile, she tried to comfort her frightened child, who began crying.
The woman explained that the driver even drove past her destination, and she reminded him that he had driven past the address she had requested, which only served to annoy the uncouth motorist even more.
He eventually turned back and stopped the vehicle at the corner she wanted, and in a very hostile manner told her “If you had a bad f***### night, get out of my f****### car”, and sped off.
The car door knocked her in the head, and almost struck her and her child off the road.
The bewildered young mother made her way home, but subsequently visited the taxi service base in La Penitence, where she spoke to the dispatcher, who apologized for the driver’s crass behaviour.
She also requested to speak with the taxi service owner, who promised to look into the matter.
Yesterday, she maintained that the driver’s attitude was uncalled for, that she deserves an apology, and that he should desist from treating passengers with such disrespect, since he is providing a service which requires him to be courteous.
The woman added that most of the vehicles contracted by the said taxi service are not sprayed in yellow, and some of the drivers are untidy and rude, even in the presence of the elderly and children.
The matter has since been reported to the police.
However, commenting on the incident yesterday, the police  said that, in such cases, the passenger reserves the right to ask the driver to reduce speed whenever they feel uncomfortable; since drivers should at all times adhere to the required speed limit.
Passengers should also report such matters to the police, who would investigate the report and take necessary action.