Cab drivers have been accused of sexual assault and there is new evidence backing up the allegations.
CTV News has obtained figures showing the number of sexual assaults where the alleged offender is a taxi driver.
Between Jan 1, 2015 and Feb.19 of this year, there have been 15 incidents. This figure includes sexual assaults, indecent acts and suspicious circumstances.
The attacks happened all across the city, including neighborhoods such as Jefferson, Pembina Strip, Centennial and Crescent Park.
"Now, you can see the scope of the problem. It's huge," said Jackie Traverse, founder of Ikwe Safe Rides, an indigenous ride share program. It was created to offer a safe alternative to cabs.
Hundreds of women have signed up over the past six weeks.
Driver Deanna Thompson said there is a recurring theme among many of the women using the service.
"They're mostly afraid. That I can say for sure," said Thompson. "They're just afraid and that's unfortunate."
The Winnipeg Taxi Alliance, representing Duffy's and Unicity Taxi, said it takes all sexual assault accusations very seriously. It calls any attack completely unacceptable and said it will never be tolerated.
"If there's a complaint launched against our drivers, they are immediately pulled from the road until an investigation, either by the company or by the Manitoba Taxicab Board, or both," said spokesperson Luc Lewandoski.
To make it easier to file a complaint, the Winnipeg Taxi Alliance is putting decals in all of its cabs. It gives customers an email address.
The group has also launched a full website to allow for more feedback.
Another way drivers can be held accountable is by examining the cameras in the cabs. Right now, those cameras only take still photos and don't record audio.
That could be changing. The Taxicab Board told CTV, older cameras are already being replaced with newer models capable of recording audio.
For the moment, however, they aren't actively recording sound, pending an analysis of privacy concerns.
