Cabbies getting into fights to secure high-paying jobs driving hospital patients

Aggressive cab drivers are getting into fights to secure higher-paying jobs transporting non-urgent patients to and from hospital.

Cowboy cab drivers are getting into physical fights in order to secure lucrative taxi bookings to transport sick people to and from hospital and other medical appointments.

The Saturday Herald Sun has been told of multiple recent incidents involving aggressive taxi drivers trying to secure jobs that have been booked by Ambulance Victoria to transport non-urgent patients.

In one horrifying incident, a dialysis patient, understood to have dementia, was caught up between two brawling cab drivers outside the Shepparton dialysis centre last month.

Sources familiar with the incident said the argument got physical, but a spokesman for 13cabs disputed the fight got physical but said both drivers were disciplined.

“We discovered an administrative error with the dispatch work, which has now been corrected,” he said.

Rogue taxi drivers are ostensibly becoming more common. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The taxi company is also investigating another incident earlier this month after receiving complaints about an aggressive driver, who allegedly assaulted passengers when declining their fares to instead accept a patient transfer ordered by Ambulance Victoria.

“Just like we expect passengers to respect our drivers and not abuse them, we expect our drivers to behave responsibly. It is a shame when a few rare incidents overshadow the great work by the majority of our drivers,” the 13cabs spokesman said.

But Victorian Taxi Association director Peter Valentine said rogue cabbies had become more widespread since the government deregulated the industry to embrace other rideshare companies.

“These drivers will take all the advantages they can, and because of deregulation, you get this haphazard ‘I can do what I want’ approach so instead they drive when, where and how they want and it’s not about the customer,” he said.

“A lot of the drivers in this state are extremely greedy and self-centred and on top of that a lot of them are liars. Until this state government realises they have a problem and are willing to work with the industry they will continue to see these incidents happening.”

Hospitals are increasingly relying on taxis to transport non-urgent patients to and from hospital. Picture: David Crosling

Mr Valentine said industry-wide training and compliance regulations for all rideshare drivers needed to be regulated, as well as a boost to enforcement activity. He claimed there were only three inspectors tasked with monitoring the state’s 100,000 commercial passenger vehicles.

“I shriek when I hear of these incidents because I know how they can be avoided. My problem lies with the state government and Safe Transport Victoria because they’ve allowed drivers’ discipline to deteriorate to this point,” he said.

The Herald Sun this month revealed Ambulance Victoria’s concerning reliance on booking taxis to transport non-urgent patients to and from appointments.

Ambulance Victoria booked a whopping 28,000 trips last year alone – or an average of 76 taxis every day – to take regional-based patients to and from hospital and other check-ups, slugging Victorians tens of thousands a year.

It’s prompted calls for the agency to expand its fleet of non-emergency patient transport in a bid to guarantee patient safety and care.

The Herald Sun has been told of several cases of cab drivers refusing to get out of their car to help patients in and out of their vehicles.

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill says complaints about taxi transfers have increased. Picture: AAP

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said complaints about taxi transfers had increased.

“A lot of complaints do come through. Patients need care and they need a dignified response,” he said.

“It’s about getting the right care to the right patient. For some people a taxi might be completely fine but if you’re an elderly patient, or you’re suffering dementia or have mobility issues, a cab might not be the best option.”

An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the reported behaviour by taxi drivers was “unacceptable”.

“We have escalated our concerns to the relevant taxi companies to ensure that no driver engaging in such behaviour is involved in any transports we arrange,” he said.

Goulburn Valley Health, which runs the Shepparton dialysis centre, said patient safety was their priority.