NSW taxi industry calls for crackdown to remove dodgy drivers

The government is resisting calls from the taxi industry to set up a database of drivers’ records to stop overcharging. Photograph: Craig P Jewell/Getty Images

The taxi industry in New South Wales is calling for greater regulation and a database of drivers’ records so operators can weed out rogue cabbies overcharging customers, but the government is resisting calls to establish the register itself.

The pleas from the NSW Taxi Council and GM Cabs – one of the state’s largest operators – for greater coordination to crackdown on driver misbehaviour follows Guardian Australia revealing that more than 520 drivers have been disciplined for refusing to use their meters or overcharging.