Taxi Driver Online

from BBC news website hence sensationalist title and gatuitous usde of images which have little or nothing to do with the story

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce81eg0d897o

A disabled woman said she was left “terrified” after a taxi driver attempted to charge her extra for her mobility scooter and then allegedly “attacked” her.

Elanor Maxey, 32, said her left arm was "slammed " into a door and her right arm was "dislocated" after the driver “lost his temper”.

The driver told the BBC, this "didn't happen" and he didn't overcharge her or attack her.

Royal Taxis, in Spalding, Lincolnshire, who contracted the driver, said they take "complaints very seriously and had not been contacted by the customer".

A zoomed picture of Elanor Maxey's upper right arm. Her skin is swollen and has a purple bruise. The bruise is dappled with shades of black, dark red and yellow.
Image source,Elanor Maxey

Ms Maxey has said she is still receiving treatment for the injury

Ms Maxey shared the footage of the alleged attack on her social media accounts, which the BBC has seen, and reported it to the police.

Lincolnshire Police confirmed it was investigating the incident.

Ms Maxey said on 6 June after a Royal Taxi dropped her off at Spalding Station, the driver attempted to charge her extra for her mobility scooter.

"He was towering over me, he was trying to intimidate me,” she said.

After a disagreement about the fee, Ms Maxey alleged the driver attempted to steal her scooter's battery pack.

"The scooter is my lifeline, I was terrified I'd be left trapped," she added.

"The man tried to attack me when he took the battery and I wouldn't let him."

She said she grabbed the battery from the car and at this point her left arm was "slammed" into the door.

"I began recording on my phone, I wanted proof," she said.

She claimed that when the driver realised he was being recorded, he attempted to grab the phone.

"My joints dislocate easily, so when he grabbed my hand, it dislocated my right arm," she said.

Genie is a grey assistance dog wearing an orange hi-vis vest, she is lying on wooden decking.

Ms Maxey says discrimination against disability "must end"

A law change in 2017 , externalsaw the introduction of a £1,000 fine for taxi drivers if they "refuse to transport wheelchair users or attempt to charge them extra".

Ms Maxey said the vehicle was a hackney cab licensed through South Holland District Council.

It is understood that the taxi was therefore subject to the South Holland District Council's Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, external which states licensed drivers "must ensure that no extra charges are applied for conveying persons with disabilities".

A blue 'Stand for taxis' sign can be seen with a sign added to the top of it which says 'No stopping at any time except taxis'
Image source,Sarah-May Buccieri

especially for stuart

South Holland District Council said they were "troubled to hear about the experience this individual has had"

Councillor Anthony Casson, portfolio holder for public protection said: “Unfortunately the individual has not provided any detail or evidence to support her claim, preventing us from carrying out an investigation.

“We treat all matters of overcharging, discrimination or other improper behaviour by licensed taxi drivers very seriously in South Holland.

“But without the relevant information the Council has no ability to carry out the necessary investigation."

However, Ms Maxey said she had “repeatedly asked for a face to face appointment” as her disability makes email correspondence difficult.

Ms Maxey said she now feared getting another taxi, and her assistance dog had also been affected by the incident.

"We're having to reassure her and retrain her because the taxi driver was so aggressive," she said.

"Discrimination happens too often, it must stop," she added.

This is Royal taxis we are talking about so I'm not convinced about their denials

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Undoubtedly, the truth will come out, and hopefully the police will undertake a thorough investigation.

But I will be amazed if the tale told in the article above is anywhere near the actual truth of the matter.

_________________
IDFIMH

Video here:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=11672 ... ef=sharing

Don't see any assault there or any theft of a battery.

The driver was insistent that he gets his fare, a fare that had been agreed between the punter and the operator before the booking.

Of course, the lady shouldn't be charged for a wheelchair, but it appears she was being charged extra for a scooter.

Why didn't the lady speak to the operator, who then could have spoken to the driver and maybe diffused the situation?

_________________
IDFIMH

Maybe shouldn't be saying this on here, but I wonder if the incident referred to by the Peterborough councillor recently and disputed by the PHA there might be about this?

A lot of it fits - charges of assault and hate crime, and the apparently a warrant out for the arrest of the driver after non-appearance in court

Of course, you'd assume from the Peteroborough stuff in the other thread that it was a local driver, but read the stuff closely and it doesn't actually say.

And although the Spalding incident was assumed to be a driver licensed by South Holland Council, that was never stated accurately either. Of course, one explanation is that it could have been a Peterborough-badged HC doing a pre-booked job in Spalding just a few miles up the road...or maybe the stuff on the Peterborough pages isn't about a Peterborough licensed driver at all...

This was posted back in January by the disabled woman this thread is about, so it all fits with the stuff posted in Peterborough more recently

Can't be bothered fiddling about with it all, which is required to post it on here - it's all those wee emojis or whatever they're called, and although they show in the post preview on here, when you actually try to post it an SQL error appears

Which is an old problem on here I've never quite worked out, but usually it's easy enough just to remove the emojis...

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... 4675541029

I wish the driver had attended court when he was supposed to, as it would have been good to hear his side of the story.

We may still hear his side when he finally appears, but him not attending when he should have was a mistake on his behalf.

_________________
IDFIMH

Both of them could have done better IMO.

Pretty sure a mobility scooter isn't equivalent to a wheelchair. I'd not charge extra for a mobility scooter myself but I'd be wary of boarding it using the wheelchair ramp on a taxi.

Did I hear the video right that she went from questioning an extra charge to refusing to pay any fare?

More than half of drivers working in spalding and 90% in Stamford about a third in Wisbech and most throughout Cambridgeshire are all from and live in Peterborough. They will mostly have uncles,cousins etc. connected to the Peterborough trade and consider themselves to be part of that community irrespective of where they work.

The peterborough Muslim community is dominated and led by men with very traditional muslim views who feel the whole community is under attack if one wrongdoing member of that community is criticised they see it is an attack on the whole community.

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector