It makes for animated dinner party conversation - what's the worst taxi experience you have had in Perth?

Examples aren't hard to find.

One friend says she was dropped several streets away from her requested destination in the middle of the night because the driver refused to do a u-turn.

Another describes handing over a $50 note for a $35 ride, only to be told there was no change, seconds before the driver sped off.

Yet another reports being refused a lift because the cab driver deemed the trip too short for him to bother.

I would need both hands to list the number of times I have personally felt uncomfortable, ripped off or unsafe in a cab, and the number of times I have made a complaint. To date, I have never had any response from the cab company.

Now, the Minister for Transport Simon O'Brien has announced a review into cab driver behaviour and called for the public to make their complaints known.

"There is no room for rotten apples in the WA taxi scene," he said.

"I am determined to weed out bad drivers. The main way that we can do it is by the public of Western Australia not accepting second rate service and also by the taxi industry."

In other words, dob the baddies in. Hasn't the public already been complaining?

In fact they have, and in growing numbers. So far this year, there have been 484 complaints to the Department of Transport, compared to 419 for the whole of 2009.

The complaints range from fare gouging to verbal abuse and inappropriate behaviour by male drivers toward female passengers.

Rogue

Mr O'Brien is quick to point out that most cab drivers do the right thing.

"The vast body of good drivers are themselves saying these are not the standards that are acceptable and we are not going to put up with these rogue drivers bringing our taxi industry down."

The Minister's attempts to clean up the industry are four pronged:

1. The Taxi Industry Board has been asked to review the training given to all drivers.

2. The Department of Transport has been asked to investigate the introduction of a probationary system for new drivers.

3. An independent expert will be brought in to examine fare meters to ensure they can't be tampered with.

4. The Department of Transport has been asked to increase random on the spot checks of drivers.

But, in an industry where drivers are largely left to their own devices, and cab drivers work independently, what will any of these moves actually achieve?

The reality is, some cab drivers do do the wrong thing.

Earlier this month, a 26 year veteran of the taxi industry, 47 year-old Stuart Wardle was jail for sexually assaulting a customer when she was passed out in the back of his cab.

The District Court heard Wardle been asked by his 22 year-old victims' friends to deliver her home safely. They put $60 dollars in his hand and gave him her address but Wardle didn't take the woman home. Instead he drove her to a Malaga industrial site where he raped her twice as she lay barely conscious.

During his sentencing Wardle was described as a career cab driver, who enjoyed his job and had suffered financially because he had lost it over the case. The sentencing Judge remarked Wardle's behaviour was an "appalling abuse of trust" and went on to jail him for a maximum of five years.

While this is an extreme case, it demonstrates the difficulties associated with an industry where employees operate without supervision.

Monitoring

The Opposition's Ken Travers admits it is difficult to monitor cab driver behaviour, even if vehicles are fitted with security cameras.

"At the end of the day it's up to the individual drivers to maintain standards, to keep their cabs clean, to know the speed limits and to make the trip enjoyable for their customer."

The Minister dismisses suggestions some members of the pubic might feel too intimidated to report a bad cab driver, because ultimately, they know where they live.

"Driver identification details are, of course, displayed in every taxi.

"Some people don't like to have a confrontation if they have a difficult driver so that is why we would encourage them to report difficulties that they have or more serious complaints to the Department of Transport or to the taxi dispatch services whether its Black and White or Swan taxis."

Ken Travers agrees the public has an important role to play but the plan is risky.

"If this inquiry ends up being about people making complaints and then ten drivers end up getting the sack, then I don't think that's going to change anything. "

"I think there is an element too that consumers in WA have become complacent about our industry and I think we've come to accept it. We've got to all start asking ourselves, are we happy with the industry? And if not, then we actually do need to start to say, we want this fixed."