Taxi Driver Online

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Blind 79-year-old woman 'refused two taxi journeys by thoughtless drivers'

https://www.maldonandburnhamstandard.co ... s-drivers/


Image: Maldon Standard

A BLIND campaigner says she was refused two journeys from taxis as the drivers claimed they could not take a person with a guide dog.

Jill Allen-King OBE, 79, from Westcliff blasted the rude and thoughtless drivers who told her they simply could not help her.

One driver did change his mind after some convincing.

The campaigner said she was left upset and angry.

She said: “On both occasions I was collecting money for the National Federation of the Blind charity.

“The first incident happened on November 29 at my home as I was going to Benfleet Train Station and we booked a taxi with Andrews Taxis, Chase Road, Southend.

“The driver said he could not take dogs as he was allergic to them.

“I told him it was illegal for him to refuse to take me and I asked if he had a certificate to show his medical reasons for refusing to take me.

“He was not very nice about it.

“He decided to take me in the end but said he’d have to take time off work because of his allergy and being exposed to the dog.

“The next incident happened on December 13 and I was at Chalkwell Train Station, again we’d been collecting.

“A driver arrived from AC Radio Cabs, Chase Road, Southend and was very rude about it, he said I had an attitude and was rude to him.

“He refused to take us and drove off.”

She said the drivers need to be prosecuted for their behaviour.

A spokesman for AC Radio Cabs said: “This is illegal and anyone who does this will be investigated by the authorities.

“We have zero tolerance for this sort of thing.”

An Andrews Taxi spokesman said: “This is not the behaviour we expect from our drivers and we do not agree with this sort of thing. If anyone is caught doing this they will be dealt with by the authorities.”

A Southend Council spokesman, said: “The council takes allegations of discrimination very seriously, and any such complaint is investigated accordingly. If anyone has a complaint regarding a licensing issue, they should call 01702 215055 and we will investigate.”

Allergy must take a while to kick in, presumably