Tauranga taxi drivers are calling for a greater police response to reports of abuse and intoxication encountered while behind the wheel.

A group of Tauranga-Mount Maunganui taxi drivers met with Independent MP Brendan Horan yesterday to talk about ways of dealing with growing verbal abuse by late night customers.

Tauranga Independent MP Brendan Horan meets with Tauranga Mount Taxi drivers. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Many said they are encountering escalating levels of abuse, and a lack of police action when reporting incidents.

Tauranga Mount Taxi driver Navdeep Singh says when drivers report cases of unpaid fares police treat it as a civil matter rather than 'theft”.

'Basically sometimes it's as if someone is too drunk, doesn't want to get out or pay the fare, cabbies call for help but there is none,” says Tauranga Mount Taxi driver Navdeep Singh.

'Police say ‘we are too busy' and tell us to go to the police station instead. If we are at the Mount late at night the police station isn't open so we have to drive all the way to Tauranga and people abuse you even more.”

He says drivers are reluctant to report abuse cases as leaving their car unattended outside the police station gives the offender a chance to vandalise it, and the lengthy time spent being questioned by police.

Speaking to police for 'up to two hours” means the driver is off the road and not picking up future customers, which means a loss of income imperative to many driver's livelihoods.

Navdeep, a taxi driver for seven years, says drivers are constantly victims of abuse yet the way police treat them in questioning makes them feel more like the offender.

'They take all our personal details, like address, cellphone number, and email address but we never hear from them again.

'Two or three weeks ago I had a case and have never had any emails or phone calls from them.”

In a recent case Navdeep says he was abused by his intoxicated gym instructor late at night, who when approached a few days later told Navdeep he was going to take legal advice.

Navdeep says 99 per cent of the cases involve locals as opposed to visitors, and the abuse comes from all ethnicities.

'Even if we tell people we are going to take them to police they say ‘do it what can they do'.”

Brendan told drivers a system needs to be in place where taxi drivers are taken seriously and not excluded.

'This is a tourist town and you guys do a great job. You have a right to go to work and have confidence in the police to be there for you when you need them,” says Brendan.

'I will be taking it as far as I can even if it has to go to the minister [Police Minister Anne Tolley].”

Brendan has also been in contact with Western Bay of Plenty area commander, Inspector Clifford Paxton, who says in an email that police are not aware of any issues.

'I am not aware of any specific concerns regarding an escalation of violence against taxi drivers in the Western Bay of Plenty.”

Clifford says he is more than happy to follow their concerns up should the taxi drivers contact police.

Clifford was unable to be reached for comment by SunLive.