The mayor of Amsterdam has called for a change to the regulations governing taxis and the granting of licenses to drivers. Mayor Job Cohen was speaking in reaction to the news that a taxi driver had killed a passenger on Saturday night in the city's central Leidseplein square.

The taxi driver apparently hit the passenger after an argument broke out between them. The passenger was taken to hospital but died a few hours later on Sunday morning. Mr Cohen called the death "an apalling and disgraceful incident."
 

In 2001, the country's taxi trade was deregulated, giving anyone who wanted to the chance to apply for a taxi licence. Since then, the number of complaints against taxi drivers in Amsterdam has increased. Many of the complaints concern rude behaviour, refusing short trips and overpriced journeys. The city's central taxi authority admits that the behaviour of many drivers is frequently extraordinarily rude.
 

Deputy Transport Minister Tineke Huizinga has announced that she will indeed be proposing new legislation to the Lower House this week which would grant local authorities greater powers to manage the taxi sector. However, a ministry spokesperson said the move did not come in response to this weekend’s incident but was a development of existing policy.

Photo by J Salmoral (flickr)