Document #1220946
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
The following information was provided in a
30 September 1996 telephone interview with an economist from the
World Bank who specializes on urban infrastructure and municipal
issues in Ecuador with the Transportation, Water and Urban
Development Department of the World Bank.
In Ecuador, street assaults and robberies
are commonplace. The dangers of being a taxi-cab driver in Ecuador
depend on the city where the driver operates. Quito and Cuenca tend
to be fairly safe for taxi-cab drivers to operate in while
Guayaquil is considered to be more dangerous, although the source
cautioned that even in Quito there are areas of the city that are
very dangerous for taxi-cab drivers.
High unemployment in Ecuador combined with
the lucrative pay available to taxi-cab drivers has encouraged
large number of workers from other sectors to seek employment as
cab drivers. The source was aware of situations where inexperience
and a "lack of street smarts" resulted in compromising situations
for new cab drivers. The source noted that the most common crimes
against cab drivers include having their cabs stolen and driven
across the border for use in drug smuggling or resale in Peru and
Columbia, or being robbed of their fares by armed assailants.
According to the source, police are known
to solicit bribes from taxi-cab drivers to "overlook" issuing a
fine for a traffic violation, after having stopped the vehicle for
a minor infraction. The source was of the opinion that the judicial
system of redress for petty crime against taxi-cab drivers in
Ecuador is cumbersome and inadequate.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
Reference
Transportation, Water and Urban
Development Department, Division 3, World Bank, Washington, DC. 30
September 1996. Telephone interview with economist.
On-line search of media sources.
Four sources consulted did not provide
information on the requested subject.