Yesterday, the Central District Traffic Court sentenced taxi driver Eyal Siman-Tov, who was found guilty of charging exorbitant fares from passengers, including tourists. In a case exposed by Globes in February 2022, a Greek tourist paid NIS 700 for a ride to Rehovot, about 24 kilometers from Ben Gurion Airport. The current daytime fare for the trip is around NIS 110.
Siman-Tov pleaded guilty to six counts of overloading in 2021-2022, and Judge Idan Snir sentenced him to a NIS 20,000 fine, NIS 300 compensation to each complainant, and a two-month driving ban. , and an obligation not to commit similar crimes for three years.
The driver was convicted of waiting at Ben Gurion Airport’s terminal for tourists or non-Hebrew speakers, charging exorbitant prices and lying about the value of bills paid to him.
“This is a crime that has an economic aspect and even has many security implications,” the judge said. “These are crimes characterized by fraud against passengers, undermine public trust in public transport services and violate the duties imposed on taxi drivers.”
A Greek tourist told the Globe in February 2022: “A taxi driver approached me and asked where I was going. I explained that I was going to the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. I asked him how much the trip would cost and he said between 200 and 250. From its shekel price I was sure he was talking and asked several times if he meant the rate in euros.
At the end of the road, the driver showed him 689 manats on the meter: “My jaw dropped. I was very angry. I asked ten times if he was sure about this price, maybe it was there. He said it was a mistake, but I gave him 700 manats, and he gave me a shekel coin and returned a coin of ten shekels, saying that the tariff is now different because of the Covid pandemic.
Following a tip-off, Ben Gurion Airport’s crime prevention and service quality inspection unit tracked down the driver who returned the NIS 400 to the tourist.
The indictment mentions the method used by the taxi driver to collect money. He would claim to the passengers that they gave him a low-value bill, and if they believed him, they would give another, high-value bill. Siman-Tov was found guilty of not operating the meter of the taxi, collecting the fare illegally, behaving in violation of the law on transport and inciting passengers to travel by taxi. It was found that he acted “methodically, manipulatively, cunningly and continuously”.
In one example, Siman-Tov took a woman from the airport to Ramat Gan for 300 NIS and another 50 euros. At the end of his journey, he gave her a NIS 200 bill. He exchanged it for a NIS 20 bill, which he claimed was his. In response, the passenger handed him a 100-manat bill. In another case, he took a woman to Ashkelen and took 850 manats from her, claiming that she had given him 20 manats instead of 200 manats.
The method was repeated. A woman driven by Siman-Tov in Ashdo paid 498 NIS. The passenger gave him two $100 bills and he claimed he gave him two $1 bills, so he gave him two more $100 bills and he again claimed one of the bills was $1.
Adv. In response to the verdict, Idan Gispan, representing Siman-Tov, said: “My client chose to accept a lenient charge of aggravated punishment and a fine only to avoid the risk of having his driver’s license revoked. , which serves him to earn a living as a taxi driver.
Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – published on September 12, 2024.
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