Woman 'absolutely shocked' after taxi driver turns her away over pushchair
Becky Brunton was left fuming after the episode in Market Place
A Cirencester woman thinks it is "disgusting" a taxi driver turned her away because of her niece's pushchair.
Cabbie Cornel Monea left Becky Brunton, 34, furious when he said one-year-old Nevaeh's pushchair would not fit in his six-seater Volkswagen Touran.
Miss Brunton, of Kingshill Meadow, went shopping with her niece yesterday at Tesco Metro, in Farrell Close, before trying to get a taxi home at 10.45am.
Her usual firm, T4 Taxis, had no drivers available for an hour and a half, so she walked to the Market Place taxi rank in the hope of flagging down a cab.
Cornel Monea's Smart Taxi cab
She said: "A red taxi pulled up. The driver got out of his car, opened the boot and then said, 'I am sorry, I can’t take you. I haven’t got any space in my boot.'
"I was absolutely shocked that he said no. I think it’s absolutely disgusting.
"I use T4 all the time and they are fine with a pushchair. It is never too much effort.
"What annoys me is the pushchair is a little one that folds almost to nothing. It would have been easy to put it in the boot and the shopping bags in the back seat."
Cornel Monea's Smart Taxi cab
Miss Brunton described the driver's demeanour as "quite miserable" and said she would not have used his service again even if he had accepted her custom.
She added: "My niece was getting agitated. She needed feeding.
"Thankfully another taxi turned up. The driver couldn't believe it when I told him what happened.
"We finally got home at 11.45am, an hour after I first tried to get a taxi."
Miss Brunton plans to make a complaint to Mr Monea and Cotswold District Council.
She believes taxi drivers who do not offer a service to all customers should not get a licence from the council.
A council spokesman said: “Drivers should not refuse a fare without a reasonable excuse and we would fully investigate any complaint made to the council. We have not yet received a complaint about this driver.”
Self-employed Mr Monea, who is the only Smart Taxi driver, said he did not want to turn Miss Brunton away.
The 38-year-old added: "The boot doesn't have enough room. You can't fold the back seat forward in this car.
"If I had put the pushchair on the back seat the wheels would have made the car dirty.
"I have children as well, so I know what it is like. I am always friendly and I would have loved to take the child, but I don’t know what else I could have done."
Asked if he plans to get a cab that can carry pushchairs and wheelchairs, he said: "I am considering an eight-seater but not too soon because I bought this one two months ago."
