Taxi Driver Online

I wonder if there's a major factor in all of this that's not mentioned in the article?

Lady certainly gets plenty of space here to make here case, while the office's response is pretty predictable.

Of course, shades of the KingKabs' response to the coroner with this kind of stuff - all pretty formulaic PR/comms stuff, but you wonder about their procedures of unsuitable drivers are being sent so often. Of course, the problem is very likely because the drivers' allergies to dogs are, er, not normally what we would regard as allergies, thus they probably don't have an official medical exemption...then it all kicks off


Blind woman and guide dog left after Wirral taxi driver refuses them

https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/2487 ... r-refuses/

A BLIND woman and her guide dog were left in the “freezing cold” after a driver from a Wirral taxi firm refused to take them.

Monica Price, who is registered blind and in her 80s, was attending a meeting a few miles away from her home in Wallasey and had booked two taxis with Argyle Taxis in Birkenhead to get to and from her location.

However, when her taxi pulled up she describes how she was “screamed” at by the driver.

She told the Globe: “I went outside just after making the call but there was a large van outside my gate and I could not see beyond it but then I heard someone shout that the cab was further down the road.

“The driver was most unfriendly and announced he had been waiting for at least five minutes.

“He must have seen I had a Guide Dog but it was only when I got to the car with my dog’s harness in my hand that he screamed at me, ‘I can’t take you. I’m allergic. Get that dog away from me’.”

Monica said the driver then jumped out his car "still screaming" and ran down the street leaving her stranded on the street.

She said: “Eventually another taxi was called and I might have just put this episode down to experience but the man who came to collect me from my meeting was rude and belligerent, shouting he was allergic to dogs.

“He drove off and left me in the freezing cold. I had to get someone from the meeting to bring me home.”

Following the ordeal, Monica is hoping to raise awareness around the issues of illegal access refusals for guide dog owners.

She said: “I am in my 80s, registered blind and I have a Guide Dog, therefore I meet the criteria of the 2010 Equality Act as a disabled person.

“I have a small amount of sight in my right eye and I am dependent upon my dog who enables me to live a normal life.

“I live alone now and I need to hire taxis fairly frequently since I don’t live near a station and the designated areas in buses are often full.

“The Equality Act is very specific about taxi drivers, whether they work for black cabs or for one of the many private hire companies.

“Drivers must, by law, accept guide dogs and other assistance dogs unless they are allergic to dogs in which case they must provide a medical certificate to verify this.

“Hire companies will have a list of those who are medically exempt and obviously should not send these drivers to passengers with assistance dogs.

“Refusals on the grounds of allergy are common now throughout the UK. Taxi firms are saying they cannot force their drivers to take assistance dogs because if they try that the drivers will leave and go to other firms.

“It is also quite usual to suffer distressing remarks all the way to one’s destination.

“One driver said to me, ‘I have the right to say who comes into my car, not you’, When one driver taking me rang his company to complain about taking a guide dog the response which I heard was, ‘Sorry, mate. It won’t happen again’.

“The odd thing is that all assistance dogs are well trained, beautifully behaved and sit quietly throughout the journey.

“These are working dogs, not pet dogs and they do their jobs extremely well.

“By refusing those of us who have them drivers are refusing disabled people and are insisting on treating us differently. It is discrimination all the way.

“We should not have to feel distressed or apprehensive when we call a taxi.

“We should not have to worry whether the drivers will cause a scene or make us uncomfortable. Surely it is difficult enough to cope with our disabilities without that.”

An Argyle Satellite spokesperson said: “We are deeply disappointed to hear of the alleged incident and strongly condemn any breach of the Disability Discrimination Act or the Equality Act.

“Argyle Satellite will work with the authorities to ensure all passengers are treated equally.

“We expect all our drivers to adhere to the Equality Act 2010, and uphold their duty to carry passengers with guide, hearing, and other assistance dogs without additional charge, except for those who have successfully applied to the council for exemption on medical grounds.

“We have now begun an internal investigation, and will be fully compliant with Wirral Licensing, providing all details required including call recordings, and booking details, to assist them with their own investigations.

“Since being made aware of the complaint, our team have been in in contact with Monica Price to offer further support.”

Unsurprisingly, the same corporate response from the same owners as kingkabs!

https://argylesatellite.co.uk/cityfleet ... rth%20West

Oh, that's a bit of a coincidence

I knew Argyle Satellite was a major player, although hadn't heard of them until 2021 - can't find it now, but it was some sort of recruitment spiel grossly exaggerating driver's take, as I recall it.

(Must have been a link or graphic, because can't find it now via a text search, although there is a reference to it in another 2021 thread about a pot of gold for drivers in Grimsby )

Argyle taxis, together with a firm called fifty fifty taxis (where I first started almost 35 years ago) were the two oldest firms on the Wirral. When the GPO first gave out radio licenses they made Argyle use numbers for their drivers and fifty fifty used the phonetic alphabet (hence my ‘name’)
Wirral satellite bought fifty fifty out around the mid 90’s, I’d left by then. Argyle and Wirral satellite merged back in 2017.

Thanks - can normally work out the source of the nicknames (of course, some are very obvious), but not x-ray.

For what it's worth, this is the thread about Argyle Satellite claiming drivers could earn £1,250 a week

And in which x-ray mentions KingKabs

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=36996

Well this looked potentially interesting. And while most of the piece is rehash, because it's been a while it's worth reading it as a reminder..

But when it gets to the new stuff, there's very little detail, other than that he's been prosecuted and fined etc, etc.

And that the council is reviewing his badge, but that's not been concluded yet...

And, importantly, absolutely zero clue as to whether the claimed 'allergy' was in fact something, er, non-secular


Wirral taxi driver who 'screamed' at blind woman must pay £760

https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/2516 ... t-pay-760/


Image: Wirral Globe

A WIRRAL taxi driver has been prosecuted after he left a blind woman and her guide dog in the “freezing cold” after refusing them entry to his cab.

In January, the Globe reported how Monica Price, who is registered blind and in her 80s, was attending a meeting a few miles away from her home in Wallasey and had booked two taxis with Argyle Taxis in Birkenhead to get to and from her location.

However, when her taxi pulled up, she describes how she was “screamed” at by the driver.

At the time, she told the Globe: “I went outside just after making the call but there was a large van outside my gate, and I could not see beyond it but then I heard someone shout that the cab was further down the road.

“The driver was most unfriendly and announced he had been waiting for at least five minutes.

“He must have seen I had a guide dog but it was only when I got to the car with my dog’s harness in my hand that he screamed at me, ‘I can’t take you. I’m allergic. Get that dog away from me’.”

Monica said the driver then jumped out his car "still screaming" and ran down the street leaving her stranded.

She said: “Eventually another taxi was called, and I might have just put this episode down to experience but the man who came to collect me from my meeting was rude and belligerent, shouting he was allergic to dogs.

“He drove off and left me in the freezing cold. I had to get someone from the meeting to bring me home.”

Drivers must, by law, accept guide dogs and other assistance dogs unless they are allergic to dogs in which case they must provide a medical certificate to verify this.

Following the incident, a spokesperson for Argyle Satellite informed the Globe that an internal investigation would take place and that the firm would be “fully compliant” with Wirral Licensing, providing all details required, including call recordings and booking details, to assist them with their own investigations.

At the time an Argyle Satellite spokesperson said: “We are deeply disappointed to hear of the alleged incident and strongly condemn any breach of the Disability Discrimination Act or the Equality Act.

“We expect all our drivers to adhere to the Equality Act 2010, and uphold their duty to carry passengers with guide, hearing, and other assistance dogs without additional charge, except for those who have successfully applied to the council for exemption on medical grounds.”

Yesterday, Thursday, May 16, the driver pleaded guilty in court and was fined £200, and ordered to pay £500 costs with a £60 victim surcharge.

Going forward, he will need to appear before the licensing committee to decide if he gets to continue being licensed to drive taxis.

A Wirral Council spokesperson said: “The council is committed to ensuring that everyone wishing to travel in taxis licensed by Wirral can do so safely and in the knowledge that they will be provided with appropriate assistance.

“All drivers licensed by Wirral must undergo training that includes details of their responsibilities to passengers who wish to travel with an assistance dog.

“We will therefore take robust action should licensed drivers fail to carry out their duties.”

This sounds as though there is a serious need to liaise with the muslim community because clearly the drivers are being told to claim allergy to avoid compliance with the law

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

And failing.

_________________
IDFIMH