Breaking Update
Taxi Driver Fined and Forced to Pay Compensation After Taking Advantage of Autistic Passenger
A taxi driver from Lod, Israel, has been fined and ordered to pay 8,250 Shekels in compensation for exploiting an autistic passenger by charging an exorbitant.
Jerusalem, 26 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Following an indictment filed by Israel’s Ministry of Transportation, a taxi driver from Lod who charged a passenger on the autism spectrum an exorbitant fare of 825 Shekels ($263), instead of about 290 Shekels ($92), was ordered by a Magistrate’s Court for Traffic to compensate the passenger in the amount of 8,250 Shekels ($2,628).
The Magistrate’s Court judge also fined the taxi driver 6,000 Shekels ($1,900) and ordered the revocation of his public driver’s license (taxi operating license) for a period of 60 days, and that he perform 150 hours of community service.
In addition, the court imposed, but suspended for a probationary period of three years, a conditional disqualification of the taxi driver’s license for three months, and required the driver to sign a bond of 20,000 Shekels ($6,370).
This came after a social media post published by the victim’s mother, which led the Inspection Division of the National Public Transportation Authority within the Ministry of Transportation to decide to open a criminal investigation against the taxi driver, and at the end of it, the National Prosecution Department at the Ministry of Transportation filed an indictment.
In its verdict, the court declared, “Exploiting the plight of a person on the autism spectrum is a serious ethical and moral failure.”
