Employee Gifts Honest Cabbie With Precious Ducat After Measly Reward For Returning GBP 11,000

By Aloysius FernandesNewsFeb 19, 2024

Minute Read

A taxi driver who found more than GBP 11,000 in cash in the back of his cab has been rewarded with a gold ducat from his employer after he got just GBP 85 from the passenger who forgot the money.

The driver receives a golden ducat, undated. He found 13,000 euros in an envelope in Vienna, Austria. (CEN)

Fazli A. has been driving taxis for market leader Taxi 40100 in Vienna, Austria, since 1995.

On 6th February, the 58-year-old was stunned to find EUR 13,000 (GBP 11,100) in cash in the back of his cab. He immediately contacted the taxi headquarters who informed the woman.

The cab driver went back to the address where she had exited the taxi to hand over the money.

Now Fazli’s employers have decided to honour his honesty with a precious gold ducat.

Taxi 40100 general secretary Eveline Hruza told CEN on 19th February: “The woman was incredibly relieved. She told him she’d fall on her knees out of gratitude.

“It was not her money. She was asked by her boss to take it from A to B. He had already warned her she would have to come up for it herself if it’s gone.”

Picture shows Fazli, 58, taxi driver from Vienna, undated. His customer lost a bag with over 13,000 euros in his Suzuki car and he handed the money back to the owner. (CEN)

Hruza emphasised: “Our driver told us it was the most normal thing for him to do.”

Speaking to CEN, Hruza said it was hard to determine the exact value of the ducat due to the volatile gold market.

She explained: “This is why we decided against announcing a precise figure. But currently it is worth between EUR 270 and 280 (GBP 230 to 240).”

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Taxi 40100 has a fleet of around 1,800 cabs.

Hruza said: “We do not pay Christmas bonuses and we don’t reward our drivers for having been with us for 10 or 20 years.

“However, we run a store where our staff can purchase items such as mobile phone equipment and jackets depicting our logo at fair prices.”

The company executive added: “Customers leave behind their phones and wallets all the time. Usually their briefcases contain around EUR 100 or so.

“This is what made the recent incident so special.”

Fazli only received a EUR 100 (GBP 85) reward from the relieved female passenger.

But when local media argued that this was a measly sum, he just said: “For me, it’s just about humanity. Everyone should also think about their fellow human beings.”