Earlier this week, Lesianu Zewdie Hweld, a 44-year-old Halifax taxi driver, was accused of sexually assaulting a passenger

Earlier this week, Lesianu Zewdie Hweld, a 44-year-old Halifax taxi driver, was accused of sexually assaulting a passenger.

This comes just weeks after Bassam Al-Rawi, another driver, was found not guilty of similar charges.

"I'm frustrated and I'm angry, because this keeps happening time and time again," says HRM District 14 Councillor Lisa Blackburn.

Back in July 2019, the Hweld was denied renewal of his license by the taxi licensing authority, because he failed to self-report accidents and the revocation of his provincial license.

He appealed the decision to the Appeals Standing Committee, and his license was reinstated.

Blackburn was the sole member of the committee to vote against Hweld's reinstation.

"To me it wasn't about whether or not his license was suspended, it was all about his failure to report, which is clearly outlined in the bylaw," she tells NEWS 95.7's The Todd Veinotte Show.

The councillor expressed shock when asked about the latest allegations.

"What is it that makes a driver think that any of that is appropriate?" she says.

Dave Buffett, president of the Halifax Regional Municipality Taxi Association, says it's difficult to describe how he feels.

"It's an alleged assault at this point, but it's devastating," Buffett says. "Even if he's found to be not guilty, it's devastating."

Buffett says he knows Hweld personally, and that makes it even more difficult to hear about the allegations against him.

"[He] has a key position in Capital Health, a very important position, so it makes it even more difficult to understand that he could've done this kind of thing, in the sense that he's got so much to lose," he tells NEWS 95.7's The Todd Veinotte Show.

Every time an incident like this happens, Buffett says that passengers begin asking other cab drivers questions.

"'Did you hear the news?' Do you know the driver?'," he says. "We're all looked at as possible predators."

But soon, changes will be coming to the taxi industry in HRM.

Blackburn says her and her fellow councillors discussed the changes at a meeting last Tuesday.

"It involves things like requiring all taxis to have GPS so we know where they are, where they have been," she explains.

There will also be mandatory sensitivity training for all taxi drivers before they hit the road, something Buffett hopes will eliminate improper behaviour.

"What was the norm not too many years ago is not anymore," he explains. "Also, we have an international driver pool, and what's right in Country A is not right in Country B."

One proposal that Buffett had hoped would become mandatory is that of cameras in all cabs. But it won't be implemented with this round of changes.

"It would've given the passenger the confidence that all HRM cabs have a good quality camera," he says. "And therefore I'm confident when I get in the cab nothing's going to happen."

Buffett says the cameras would also protect drivers from false allegations.

The cameras would come at the expense of drivers and save footage for at least 21 days. But Buffett says HRM staff didn't think it was worth it.

"They felt that it gave the impression of security, but it didn't give any real security," Buffett adds.

Blackburn thinks more education will help the issue, but not solve it completely.

"If somebody's going to be a predator they're going to be a predator, and I don't think you can learn that out of somebody," she says. But they're not all like that. We have to weed out the bad seeds so that we can get on to building our taxi industry and its reputation."