Taxi driver's license suspended for second time after allegedly 'shouting at elderly passenger'

An Edinburgh taxi driver is set to have his license suspended for a second time after allegedly shouting at a grieving elderly passenger in a funeral home to demand payment after his card reader failed.

Baris Eroglu first had his taxi license suspended in 2024 after receiving three complaints in just over three months, including an allegation that he told a city employee to “watch [their] f***ing words.”

It was reinstated in December 2024, but now councillors on the city’s licensing Licensing Sub-Committee have been recommended to suspend it again after a number of other allegations.

In January 2025, it was alleged that Mr Eroglu drove aggressively close to a cyclist and shouted at them. The driver claimed the cyclist had instead made racist remarks towards him at a city intersection.

In an emailed statement to the council, the cyclist claimed he nearly struck their bike’s pannier bag while trying to overtake them and that Mr Eroglu said that “cyclists are not considered vehicles and should not use the middle lane.”

The cyclist said that the statement represented a ‘concerning lack of awareness’ on the taxi driver’s part and a ‘disregard’ for the cyclist’s safety.

It is understood that Mr Eroglu disputed this claim and said the cyclist had made a racist remark towards him.

He was given a written warning and assured officers there would be ‘no more complaints’. But in May 2025, according to the council report, it was alleged that he followed a grieving woman in her 70s into a city funeral home when she was unable to pay her fare because his card machine would not work

A statement emailed by the passenger to the council said Mr Eroglu had ‘no people skills’, and claims he subjected her to a ‘verbal assault’ in the taxi.

She wrote: “I pointed out that all his abusive behaviour was not going to make cash appear in my purse.”

In her email, the passenger said she told the taxi driver she would pay him at an ATM at Cameron Toll, where her trip started, after her appointment.

Both the passenger and Mr Eroglu said that she paid him after the journey, but he said his card reader did not function when it came time for the passenger to pay her fare.

In a statement he emailed to the council, Mr Eroglu said he did enter the funeral home, but spoke to the passenger in a “calm manner” to ask how they were going to pay for the ride.

He said the passenger was “abusive” towards him, and that he was left speechless by the exchange.

He continued to say that the passenger later came to the Cameron Toll taxi rank in an “aggressive manner”, and that she “slammed the money into my hand”, with coins falling on the floor.

After the May incident, officers referred him to the city’s Licensing Sub-Committee, recommending that it suspend his license on the grounds that he is not a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold one.

The taxi driver’s license was revoked in May 2024 after three reports were made against him, but it was reinstated in December.

Officers said that previous engagement with Mr Eroglu over past complaints made against him ‘[do] not appear to have worked’.

A 2024 council report says that the first complaint came in August 2023, alleging that he had mounted a kerb while driving and had used “aggressive and inappropriate language towards a third party” during a trip.

And in another incident, reported in September 2023, a passenger said that on two occasions, Mr Eroglu had been unhelpful and ‘blunt’ in interactions with them.

After each of the incidents, council officers wrote to the taxi driver with ‘advice’ that he should “ensure his interactions with members of the public remain professional at all times.”

In October 2023, council officers came across Mr Eroglu’s taxi while performing spot checks of vehicles in the Cameron Toll taxi rank, where he was unable to provide insurance documentation for his vehicle.

They also noted that, due to wearing white trainers, he was not in compliance with the dress code required for city taxi drivers and that it took ‘several follow-up requests’ over the ensuing days for him to provide his insurance information.

And, in an incident reported in November 2023, a passenger said that Mr Eroglu had acted in an ‘aggressive manner’ with them, and apparently failed to provide the passenger a receipt.

Officers said they had attempted to invite him several times over the following month to an interview to discuss the allegations made in November 2023.

When they finally reached him on December 12, an officer says Mr Eroglu warned a council officer to “watch your f***ing words”, and said he did not know when he would be back in the city, saying he was away from Edinburgh.

The Licensing Sub-Committee originally suspended his license for its remaining term, but at a December council meeting, it was reinstated.

In his interview with council officers after the January 2025 incident, Mr Eroglu said that prior to his 2024 suspension, he was dealing with personal matters that affected his actions.

He further said that he appealed once he “felt [he] was in a good place to return to taxiing”, and that he believed he was a fit and proper person to hold a taxi license.

Mr Eroglu’s license will be discussed at the next meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee, which will be held as a remote call on Monday, June 21.