Drivers have shared horrific experiences of broken arms and bottles being bashed over their heads, as instances of knife attacks and physical abuse escalates.
“I have not been able to work or make any income whatsoever,” Melbourne taxi driver Ryan Eido said.
“Physically I can’t drive, mentally I can’t drive.”
Australia’s largest taxi company 13cabs has launched a safety awareness campaign after a major spike in the number of incidents of aggression from passengers across major cities.
Figures showed Melbourne had the greatest number of incidents, followed by Sydney and Brisbane.
In Melbourne in the past year there were 381 cases of assaults, compared to 319 in the same period in 2022.
There were 233 incidents in Sydney compared to 170 this time last year.
And in Brisbane, there were 192 compared to 119 in 2022.
The chief executive of 13cabs Olivia Barry said the public needed to treat taxi drivers as human beings.
“These things are just totally unacceptable,” she said.
“I’m sure drugs and alcohol have something to do with this as well, as we see that most of our drivers are affected by this behaviour late at night.
“A driver is a person who goes home to their families.”
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Melbourne taxi driver Ryan Eido suffered a broken arm following a physical assault.
He hasn’t returned to work since.
“He was pretty drunk, slurring words and I was trying to advise him that I couldn’t take him,” he told 9News.
“He just launched at me, it happened so fast.”
Taxi driver Binny Arora was driving in the city when a passenger tried to crack a beer bottle over his head.
“I didn’t work for a week and I’ve stopped driving at night at all,” he said.
The new 13cabs campaign will be marked by some taxis in each state featuring specially designed dome lights, displaying the words “brother”, “sister”, “son”, “dad” and” friend”, instead of ’13cabs’.
Some 13cabs vehicles will feature the sticker #MoreThanJustADriver on the back bumper bar.
All 13cabs are equipped with cameras, tracking and back to base security for the safety of both drivers and passengers.
But the company is pleading for more support from law enforcement to prevent the assaults.
“A camera can’t do much if you’ve already been attacked,” Eido said.
