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Taxi environments: Winnipeg taxicab board

Organisation

The Manitoba Taxicab Board is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal created under the authority of the Manitoba Taxicab Act.  The Taxicab Board is responsible for regulating the operation of taxicabs in the City of Winnipeg.


Challenge

Due to the nature of the occupation, taxicab drivers are frequently victims of robbery, physical assault and even murder.  In many cases, incidents are not even reported to the police.  However, with the most recent murder of Mr. Pritam Deol in July 2001, taxicab drivers voiced their concerns and requested that the Taxicab Board assist in improving driver safety.  The Minister of Transportation and Government Services commissioned a study on how to improve taxicab driver safety.  The Taxicab Safety Issues Report released in October 2001 made several recommendations.  One of the recommendations was to install mandatory in-vehicle cameras to reduce the number of assaults.

Solution

In response, the Taxicab Board established an industry safety committee to explore ways to implement this recommendation. The Taxicab Safety Committee reviewed the experience of other cities.  The Committee also assessed various invehicle camera systems and met with the manufacturers.  The Safety Committee recommended that FareView™, the digital mobile surveillance system for taxis, was most suitable for the Winnipeg industry. The Taxicab Board mandated that cameras be installed by July 1, 2002.  Today, FareView monitors the front and back seats in Winnipeg's 430 taxicabs.  The camera within the system is equipped with InfraRed wide-angle illumination to ensure image clarity even at night.

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