In January 2022, Klara took a taxi home after a party on Kungsholmen. The driver stopped during the journey and before Klara could react, he got between the front seat and the back seat of the car and attacked her. – I have very faint memories of this. I think I have fallen asleep, because my next memory is that I wake up to find him on top of me, says Klara. – All I remember is that his fingers are where they shouldn’t be. My only protection goal is that I am put and fight more or less to break free and get out of there, she continues. Klara, whose perpetrator was convicted of attempted rape, is not the only one who has been subjected to sexual violence by her taxi driver. The Swedish Transport Agency is the authority that must ensure that taxi journeys are safe and revoke unsuitable drivers’ identification cards. But the authority, which is supposed to withdraw the identification as soon as they are informed of the sexual crime, is slow in its handling, shows Kalla fakta’s review. The late handling has had consequences. Taxi driver managed to rape again A taxi driver assaulted women in his taxi during May and June 2015. He was convicted in March 2016, but the Swedish Transport Agency only revoked his license six months later. During that time, the driver raped another woman in the taxi. – Yes, it’s terrible. We should have acted immediately. My understanding is that we act as quickly as we are informed. That’s my picture, replies Henrik Julin, head of section at the Swedish Transport Agency. It is not the only time the Swedish Transport Agency has delayed revoking a convicted sex offender’s identity card. Between 2016-2022, the Swedish Transport Agency has revoked over 60 taxi driver’s licenses where the driver was convicted of sexual offenses in the taxi. Can take up to 200 days On average, it takes a month and a half for the authority to make the revocation after they are notified of the sexual offence. At the same time, Kalla fakta’s review shows that it can take significantly longer than that. The Swedish Transport Agency has taken up to 200 days and several times around 100 days have passed. During that time, the majority of drivers can continue to drive taxis. Henrik Julin at the Swedish Transport Agency believes that they may have had problems notifying the driver. The cold facts program Inlåst is published on TV4 Play on Tuesday, August 29. A summary linear version will be broadcast on TV4 on Thursday, August 31 at 21.00.
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