A study has revealed that 70% of Edinburgh’s taxi drivers feel unsafe at work.

Drivers reported fare-dodging and abusive passengers as the main reasons for their concern, with 94% of cabbies in the capital claiming to have been either verbally or physically abused by passengers under the influence of alcohol.

The national survey, carried out by Edinburgh Napier University student Moira Weir, also highlighted that taxi drivers feared that members of the public would damage their vehicles.

One participant recalled: There was one guy who refused to pay the fare. On his way out he booted the door of my vehicle. This is really bad for me as it means the taxi has to come off the road and I can’t make a living.

Research unearthed some of the shocking behaviour carried out across the country, including a Glasgow driver who had a gun held to his head and another who had to put up with drunk and abusive teenage girls in Dundee.  Moira, an MSC Transport, Planning and Engineering student, interviewed 75 taxi drivers in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William for the study.

She said: Taxi drivers are the white knights of the city and play a vital role in the night time economy, but the vast majority of those I spoke to said that they felt most vulnerable in the evening or at night.  I found it shocking to hear how frequently taxi drivers have to deal with threatening behaviour or fare dodging which directly affects their work and ability to make a living. No-one should have to put up with that kind of behaviour at work.

Central Taxis Chairman Bill Purnell said: “Our drivers can suffer intimidation and violence, especially when working the night shift. These types of behaviour will not be tolerated and as such, we are working with Edinburgh City Council’s Licensing Department to explore the possibility of installing CCTV across the fleet.  All workers deserve to feel safe at work. We believe that installing CCTV in our taxis will offer a practical option to ensuring our drivers safety.