Duffy's Taxi says driver in New Year's Eve incident will be suspended — if it was their driver

A Winnipeg taxi company said it's looking into an alleged incident involving one of its drivers on New Years Eve.

A 23-year-old woman said her cab driver dropped her off kilometres away from her final destination at 2:30 am.

Jaylene Irwin said the taxi driver told her he had another call, and forced her to get out in  –27 C degree weather.

In a statement emailed to CBC on Thursday, Duffy's Taxi said it sincerely regrets the incident.

"It is terrible to happen to anyone," the statement reads. 

The company said it's narrowing down the identity of the cab and its driver, and whether it was a Duffy's taxi that was involved.

Irwin told CBC News she is "100 per cent certain" she was in a Duffy's taxi that night.

Duffy's said it intends to discipline the employee. "If our driver [was] involved in this incident, [they] will be suspended," it said.

The statement goes on to say the company is in touch with the city about what happened.

Irwin told CBC News that her family has filed a complaint with Duffy's Taxi as well as the city's 311 service.

Irwin's said Duffy's reached out to her for more information. She said she hasn't received any other information since.

108 complaints filed against vehicles for hire

The City of Winnipeg is responsible for dealing with any complaints about taxis or other "vehicles for hire," including limousines and ride-sharing services like TappCar.

A spokesperson for the city would not disclose whether it had received a complaint from Irwin.

"Winnipeg Parking Authority takes complaints very seriously and looks into every complaint that is received through the designated process," spokesperson Adam Campbell wrote in an email.

If there is an investigation, Campbell said the city can access recordings from the vehicle and dispatcher's trip log.

The parking authority also has access to the taxi's in-vehicle video. A recent bylaw currently requires all cabs be equipped with a video camera.

From January until the end of November, the city said it received 108 complaints about vehicle for hire services.

Of those, the majority were against Duffy's Taxi (40) and Unicity Taxi (38).

Suspending driver not the answer, Irwin says

Irwin said she isn't looking to get the driver fired, but wants more regulation and oversight of taxicabs in Winnipeg.

"I think there needs to be more than just a suspension," she said.

"I don't think firing somebody is necessary, but I just think that all drivers should be regulated tougher, and screened properly. There has to be a better system, because it happens so often."

She said she doesn't feel individual suspensions are the solution.

"If these drivers are just constantly getting suspended, and nothing's actually coming from it, it's really disappointing for the city, and people are going to stop taking cabs and we're going to find another safer ride."

Irwin said she's had multiple people reach out with stories of the same experience with taxis, including Indigenous women who say it happens very often in their communities.

"Nothing is actually being done. A lot of people have said they've had similar cases where the cab driver will just suddenly stop and tell them to get out, because they have another call."