Q&A: Reporting Unlicensed Drivers
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Reporting Unlicensed Drivers
Question
Hello Rabbi.
Today I needed to travel from Jerusalem to the central region. I found an ad in a Haredi free paper for a taxi company called “Derekh HaChesed” that offers cheap rides. I contacted them, we agreed on a price, and I waited more than 20 minutes for the taxi to arrive.
When the driver arrived, it turned out he was not a “taxi” at all, but just an unlicensed pirate driver, and the company is simply posing as a taxi company. Since I get reimbursed only with receipts, I sent the driver away and waited for a driver from another company.
I think the company is committing several wrongs here:
- They cause people like me (who need a receipt) to waste time.
- They put passengers at risk by driving without insurance.
- They are concealing income from the Tax Authority.
- They are encroaching on the livelihood of licensed taxi owners.
- The question is: is it permissible to report them?
Answer
It seems to me that yes.