A tarnished image
by
Marcel Van Silfhout |
Condolences to a liberalised taxi service
It doesn’t matter who started the fight. The fact is, a passenger died in hospital early Sunday morning after he was severely hit by an independent taxi driver in the middle of the old centre of Amsterdam. The victim, Rob Sitek, 44, leaves behind a one-year-old baby and two teenage daughters. His death shocked Holland, in particular Amsterdam.
It was 37-year old Dutch Moroccan kick box fighter Sidi Mohammed B who killed Sitek. Some say they both hit each other. Others say, oh, no! Sitek used expletives when he heard of the high taxi fare to take him home. After that insult Sidi allegedly used a single blow to ground Sitek.
The incident has once again brought to the fore the privatization of Dutch taxis, especially in Amsterdam and some other big cities. The market is criminalized and has become dangerous for tourists and ordinary passengers. Ironically, everyone has known this for years. But none has initiated any steps to redress the problem. Why didn’t the local government act to end the misery of taxi users is a mystery. Cabbies are an important part of daily life: a good, safe and customer friendly taxi is what every passenger wants. The Dutch capital is one of the most desired tourist destinations but it is also notorious for its cabbies. Tourism is one of the biggest money earners and visitors are important for the economy to flourish. When one browses through tourist guides, one will find many warnings to be cautious when hailing a taxi.
Since the nineties, the taxi operations have been liberalized. In 2000, it was thought that prices would drop if there was more competition. But, according to the most popular Dutch Newspaper De Telegraaf, which didn’t criticise privatizations in those years, it is the ‘taxi anarchy’ that had cost a human life now.
The tragedy has many dimensions. Rob Sitek was the brother of ‘Amsterdammer’ (Man of Amsterdam) Andre Sitek of last year. He is an ambulance driver. He was threatened with death by a Dutch Moroccan street gang when he tried to help a young boy with knife stabbings. Andre Sitek had to drag the boy quickly into his ambulance before being attacked. That unpleasant incident shocked the nation as well. What to do when ambulances and firemen can’t do their jobs anymore? Andre Sitek was openly supported and praised by Job Cohen, the Mayor of Amsterdam.
The Dutch Moroccan kick boxer, who was arrested immediately by two policeman who happened to be at the scene, will most probably go to jail for a while. His wife and his one-year-old baby will have to miss him for a couple of years. There is not much information about him, although his neighbours and some colleagues described him as a nice and calm man who had never acted aggressively before. However, if we go by the public reaction, the incident added to the raging debate on integration, rightwing populist Wilders and growing xenophobia in The Netherlands.
The deadly incident took place in the heart of Amsterdam: the Leidseplein. This taxi spot and the one at the Amsterdam Central Station are known as most hostile and dangerous places in the city, especially due to the many intimidating ‘free riders’. The taxi drivers demand fares that are far too high, refuse short rides, are often incompetent and don’t drive passengers directly to the right address in order to earn more and they behave aggressively. Single women might have good reasons not to take a taxi, after having experienced some incidents of different kinds of abuse.
Mayor Cohen, city executive Hans Gerson, the Dutch parliament and even Deputy Minister Tineke Huizinga have all admitted that something needs to be done to repair the damage caused to the city’s reputation by taxi drivers. Among the measures announced were, local authorities would get more control over taxi operators and the ‘free independent riders’ will be banned from taxi stands.
Indeed, as in other sectors, liberalisation of taxi service has failed due to an ideological laissez faire approach in which any form of government control was banned. Deputy Minister Huizinga is working on a new taxi law. Taxi drivers in future will have to meet additional requirements. It’s sad that someone had to die before accepting the fact that the taxi liberalization has utterly failed.
(Marcel van Silfhout is an investigative reporter working for public Dutch Television)
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