Taxi Driver Online

Blind man and guide dog left to walk by cab firm

A BLIND man was left stranded because a taxi driver refused to drive him with his guide dog. Now the taxi firm, Tandem Taxis, of Waterloo, could face a £1,000 fine.

Mr Jonathan O'Connor, of Southfield Road, Almondbury, called the taxi after completing an £80 shop at Morrisons supermarket with his nine-year-old son, Jacob. "It was almost seven o'clock and freezing cold," he said.

"It wasn't a long journey home but there was no way I could walk with all the shopping and the dog and Jacob. "But when the taxi driver arrived he said he wouldn't take us because of my guide dog.

"He said she would dirty the seat and he would have to clean the car for the next passenger. "I explained that she sat in the footwell but he drove off. "I rang the base and asked for an apology and another car but he said they don't take dogs and shouted some abuse and put the phone down."

An angry Mr O'Connor, who is partially sighted, contacted the Disability Rights Commission who told him it was a criminal act to refuse to take a guide dog. He has now written to the firm by recorded delivery asking for an explanation.

Mr Doug Holliday, licensing manager at Kirklees Council, confirmed that it was against the law to refuse to carry `assistance dogs' and that offenders found guilty could be liable to a fine of up to £1,000.

"For the past eight years we have run in-house training for all taxi drivers, Hackney and private hire, which show them how to deal with guide dogs, among other things. "I feel very strongly about this issue and now it has been brought to my attention I will investigate the complaint," he said.

No-one from Tandem Taxis would comment.

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IDFIMH

Obviously a clear cut case of refusing to take the guide dog, was it P/H or Hackney, we shall have to wait and see if both operator and driver are had up?

Regards

JD

Another clear cut case of the Law being an Ass.

£5 fare

£10 cleaning bill.

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There's no excuse for animal abuse. If you ain't vegan you are an animal abuser.

The thing about incidents like this is that I wouldn't be surprised if the driver thought he was in the right (legally if not morally) by refusing the guide dog.

After all, it's quite common in the trade for drivers just to discover the existence of a rule when they have broken it.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

I think this has been discussed on TDO many times, and the general consensus is that guide dogs are considerably cleaner than many of our two legged punters.

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IDFIMH

Can we draw any conclusion from the 1998 Kirklees article posted in the Trafford thread and this incident? Could it be that some drivers in Kirklees are non too happy carrying disabled punters?

Regards

JD

I took my old dog, he's 12 years old, to the vets, he is a Labby, his legs are going, I took the old pal in the taxi, he likes a ride out now and again, I don't get any bother from him, except he likes the window open a fraction to sniff the air, I get no moans from him with regards his age or his condition, but he does stink, but I can cope with that as he is ill, he's got wot another 3 years then thats it.

My dog the second Labby we have had, has free access around the house, keeps on guard day and night of the property, his drugs costs 34 quid a month to stop seizure of his leg muscles

I would say to all cabbies, let the blind persons dog in, he like you is doing a job, in the blind case leading a person, he unlike some of the punters will not harm you or belittle you, he will sit quitely and not expect any reward, even a pat on the head

I suspect guide dog refusals are in fact a pretty rare occurence, but they do make for good newspaper headlines when they do arise

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Yes, well spotted. There may of course be some connection, but I suspect the attitudes on display arise in every area to a greater or lesser extent, thus to that extent the fact that Kirklees has featured twice in articles re the disabled is just a conincidence.

Of course, to a large extent it might depend on how good the local press is at picking up these stories or how the LA went about communicating the change in rule re guide dogs, or not, as may have been the case.

But I doubt if any saloon areas agreed with the intent of the DDA when it came out, and there are certainly lots of press articles and anecdotes about guide dog/wheelchair refusals, so an extensive search of the local press would probably unearth quite a few Kirkleeses.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

if a person comes with a wheelchair drivers are going to refuse them access? a guide dog is the same to a blind person a wheelchair is to a disabled person they both need them. if they refuse access to a guide dog there licences should be revoked by the local authority

I'll only carry guide dogs, it's easy enough to carry a roll of sellotape in the glove box and wrap it around my hand (sticky side out) and pick up any hairs. But they are trained to sit still in the footwell and i've never had a problem.
We're on data so when some drivers get a note attached to the name/address (guide dog) they just radio in and refuse it (punter knows nowt about it) and someone who does carry them goes for it.

It is only when someone close to a driver is, or becomes wheelchair bound or blind. Will they realise how difficult it is. Then will become only too eager to transport these unfortunate people.

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Make trafic wardens redundant. PARK LEGALLY.
Congestion charge! Before it was free.