Taxi Driver Online

Mini-cab/taxi/PCO/Norfolk/London..confused !!!!

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A woman's complaint has led to the first conviction against a mini-cab driver for refusing to take a blind person with a guide dog. Bernie Reddington, 37, was furious when London taxi driver Basir Miah refused to take her and her guide dog Orla in his private hire vehicle.

This week, at London's Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court, he admitted refusing to carry out a booking made by a disabled person on the grounds that the disabled person was accompanied by her assistance dog. Mrs Reddington, from Parkland Road, Sprowston, along with her son Christopher, 13, who is also blind, attended a hospital appointment at Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London last November.

Miah arrived in his cab to collect Mrs Reddington to take her to London Liverpool Street station, but when he saw her guide dog, he said: “No dogs”. After ignoring Mrs Reddington's insistance that his refusal to take the dog was illegal, Miah left the group with a hospital receptionist.

Mrs Reddington said today: “I'm really pleased about the result. The experience made me feel sub-human and awful. I was humiliated. “If this can stop something like that happening to anyone else then it will be worthwhile. I really hope this sends out a message to all taxi drivers to think again before they decide to break the law. I hope this benefits other blind and partially sighted people who have guide dogs.”

She said she was surprised it was the first conviction for such an offence. “I thought there must have been someone feistier or gutsier than I am who would have complained. “It's happened to me more than once, although not in Norfolk. All I want to do, when I get a taxi, is to get from A to B without any hassle and without taxi drivers complaining about having a guide dog.” The case was brought under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Jane Vernon, Royal National Institute of the Blind legal officer, said: “We are delighted and welcome this result. As far as we know this is the first time a mini-cab driver has been convicted. I hope that this conviction sends out a message to drivers that they will not get away with this form of discrimination.” Miah was fined £150, but had previously agreed to pay Mrs Reddington compensation of £250.

Thanking the Public Carriage Office and Transport for London, Ms Vernon added: “Blind and partially sighted people, more so than many other disabled people, depend on taxis. We would urge other licensing authorities to take the complaints of guide dog owners more seriously and pursue appropriate penalties against taxi drivers and firms.”

Taxi drivers can refuse to take a guide dog if they have a medical exception, but RNIB believes many taxi drivers have been flouting the law, which was introduced in 2003.

A Transport for London spokesman said: “We regard any complaints of this nature as extremely serious. The message to any cab driver in London or elsewhere is that services for disabled people are important.”

Mrs Reddington's husband Marcus, 46, is registered blind, as is her daughter Abbie-Rose, eight. Her daughter Katie, 10, has full vision.

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IDFIMH

Any "proper" taxi would have been more than happy to take her.....maybe GOSH should display our numbers on their payphones instead of minicab numbers.....

I've amended the mistake for you.

please define proper taxi.

or are you talking about private hire / minicabs

Real London taxi drivers always take guide dogs.

Perhaps, as David says, Great Ormond Street should use Licensed Taxi's instead of the local Minicab office, then this situation would'nt occur.

In London, a Taxi is a licensed WAV vehicle, either a TX, Metro, Fairway or Asquith, driven by a driver who has completed the Knowledge of London, The DSA Taxi and wheelchair test, and does'nt refuse guide dogs.

Our PH co, ask when you start, what you will accept in your car (ie estate) or will you take guide dogs (I am allergic to dogs and cats) I still would accept a guide dog, but if you don't it goes on the system, when a call comes in, the drivers that have problems with guide dogs would not be offered the job in the first place, but if the PH office is setup right, then this wouldn't have happend, disgraceful that it did, Drivr should have taken her, then spoke to his office nd refused any further jobs with blind passengers.

I think any incident involving working dogs, such as blind dogs is avoidable if all taxi and Private hire drivers familiarised themselves with the law. I find it hard to believe that any circuit operator would not inform all his drivers about the law on carrying guide dogs. TDO published and debated the law when it first came into force for Private hire drivers and I'm sure everyone who reads this site is aware of their obligations under the law. There is no excuse for not carrying a blind dog because an exemption if necessary, can be applied for.

Regards

JD

I am correct in thinking, we don't need to carry them, BUT if we accept the booking, then we can't back out? IE if I tell my circuit operator i don't wish to carry guide dogs, and I then won't be able to bid for jobs with guide dogs, then I don't need an exemption (just add although allergic to dogs, I would still carry a guide/hearing dog) don't these poor folk have enough to put up with.

Obviously individual private hire drivers can make their own arrangements with the office they work from, the problem arises when someone phones up for a private hire vehicle or taxi without mentioning they have a guide dog and the driver who turns up refuses to take them. Under those circumstances you would be outside the law and unless you had an exemption certificate from the licensing authority you would presumably have no defence in law. As was the case in this particular incident?

Regards

JD

it's what I thought, thanks for confirming this.

Tell me something is this about a saloon type car and a blind persons dog getting up on the seats.

Please forgive my ignorance but I don't let my dog up on the seats of my saloon car. I've got a hatchback and I stick him in the boot area.

I would not expect anyone with a saloon car to carry a dog in the front or on the seats. In some cases you are talking hairs everywhere especially if its a Labrador and dog smell on the seats if the animal is wet.

Am I mistaken in thinking that this is what the courts deem to be acceptable

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

I have leather seats so less of a concern, but the hairs do concern me, it's the dander (thier skin particles they shed) that I'm allergic to, but a little extra hoovering, and a little discomfort for me is nothing to what these poor folk have to put up with, and if possible I would carry dog in frint footwell, one question that struck me, I'm licensed to carry 4, and have a saloon not hatchback, what happens when I pick up 4 passengers and one with a dog, can I refuse to take one of the passengers in ie 3 plus dog, doesn't seem safe to me otherwise.

I dont' think the legislation considers the issue about where the dog goes in the car - the essence of the legislation is that the customer can't be refused if they have a guide dog.

As I said at the time, despite the draft regulations, regulatory impact assessment and the whole consultation process, the main concern of most drivers (I suspect), namely that the dog craps or pees in the car was never considered.

Apart from that I'm not too bothered with dogs, apart from the hairs, and usually the manage to sit in the front footwell beside the owner's feet.

Although as peebee mentions, I don't know what would happen with four people and a guide dog, particularly if it was a big dog, but the law seems to compel the driver to take them all.

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Taxi Driver Online
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In my experience neither circuits nor LAs are particularly good at communicating these things to the drivers, and very often the driver only seems to find out when he's cocked up with one of the myriad rules, whether official or the circuit's own rules.

I certainly wouldn't be surprised if many circuits are still ignorant of the law as regards guide dogs, never mind the drivers.

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Taxi Driver Online
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