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BULGARIAN CAB COMPANIES MIGHT REQUEST DRIVERS' RECORDS

Bulgarian taxi companies might be requesting the driving records of their employees from the police, stated the director of OK Supertrans firm, following the Saturday morning shootout involving one of the firm's drivers.

The driver caused a brawl by repeatedly driving close to another car. The two vehicles came to a halt, and the OK driver and the male passenger in the other car started fighting. When the wife of the passenger intervened and the taxi driver hit her, her husband shot at the other man, wounding him in the chest near the shoulder.

There is no danger for the life of the cab driver, whose wound turned out to be luckily harmless. The two other persons have been detained. The man might be charged with attempted murder, as he possibly overstepped self-defense with his legally owned weapon.

On the other hand, it transpired that he had a long record of more than 60 penalties for the breach of traffic rules.

OK Supertrans director Lyudmil Lazarov commented for Darik Radio that as things stand taxi companies have no access to the driving records of their employees, but will consider requesting them from the authorities for safety reasons.

He promised that should information that the 25-year-old driver has a bad delinquency record be confirmed, he will be fired.

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MIDNIGHT SHOOTOUT IN DOWNTOWN SOFIA GATHERS TAXI DRIVERS IN PROTEST

A taxi driver was shot in downtown Sofia around 2.30 am Saturday morning after a brawl with another driver, which provoked overnight the indignation of his colleagues, who gathered to protest.

The incident happened near the intersection of Dondukov and Levski boulevards, with the taxi driver allegedly repeatedly driving dangerously close to another car.

This led to the cars coming to a halt, and the passangers walking out to quarrel. In the ensuing quarrel, the 25-year-old taxi driver was shot by the passenger in the other car, which was driven by his wife.

The driver was wounded in the chest and is hospitalized, with his life out of danger. Police sources have reported that he has a record of penalties for breaches of traffic rules.

The incident has led about one hundred taxi drivers to gather in the wee hours in the square in front of the Parliament in support of their wounded colleague.

When they were informed that the taxi driver might have been the cause of the brawl, they peacefully dispersed.

In February 2007, Sofia taxi drivers staged large-scale protests after one of their colleagues was shot to death by the person he was driving.

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Interior Minister, taxi companies hold talks in Sofia

Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was scheduled to meet representatives of several taxi firms in Sofia on January 18 2011.

The talks were intended to improve the service provided by the companies, and to improve co-operation between taxi companies and the police, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said.

Taxi firms owners want to gain access to the archives of the transport police (known by their Bulgarian abbreviation as KAT) and want to be given full details when one of their drivers commits a traffic offence;
additionally, they want to be informed if a driver working for them has a criminal record.

The issue of seat belts was also on the agenda, given that it is rare for seat belts to be used in taxis in Sofia. Passengers, seldom, if ever use seat belts, and seldom are reminded by the driver that the law requires the wearing of seat belts. The drivers themselves are obliged to use one when alone, but not when they have a passenger in the car, BNT said.

There have been frequent reports of complaints by passengers about the behaviour of taxi drivers, frequently involving over-charging and drivers who take needlessly lengthy or slow routes to push up fares.

As many as six out of seven taxis in Sofia cheat their passengers by inflating fares, according to Auto mobile Administration deputy chief Atanas Todorov, quoted by mass-circulation daily 24 Chassa.

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Bulgarian Cab Drivers Licenses to Be Checked Online

Bulgarian taxi cab company owners will soon be able monitor and control the legality of their drivers online.
The validity of licenses of each taxi cab driver in Bulgaria would soon be checked online through the internet site of the Executive Agency "
Automobile Administration."


The system is currently prepared under an order of the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Aleksander Tsvetkov.

The decision has been made during a meeting between Tsvetkov, representatives of the Agency, the Sofia City Hall and taxi cab companies from Sofia.

The checks will be done by the number of the license which will enable all taxi cab company owners to monitor and control the legality of their drivers.