Taxi Driver Online

Blind man refused minicab in Leicester because he had guide dog with him

A blind man was refused a minicab in Leicester because he had his guide dog with him.

Mahomed-Abraar Khatri, 24, said a minicab was ordered for him and his guide dog, Vargo, on Friday afternoon.

When the car, which had been ordered from Highfields Minicabs, did not turn up, Mahomed gave them a call to ask why.

He said the call handler told him it was because there was “no-one working who would take dogs”.

“Sadly, this is relatively common,” said Mahomed, of Highfields, Leicester.

“So on this occasion, I just thought, ‘oh, not again’.”

Mahomed has been blind since the age of 15 and has owned nine-year-old Vargo for around seven years.

In 2008, the Leicester Mercury reported that Mahomed had become the first Muslim in the country to be allowed to take his guide dog into a mosque.

“I’m allowed to take my dog into a mosque, so why was I not allowed to take him in a minicab?” he said.

It is illegal for minicab drivers to refuse to pick up a fare because the would-be passenger has a guide dog with them.

Mahomed said he also frequently encountered problems when he tried to take Vargo into local shops and takeaways in the city - even though it is against the law for service providers to treat blind or partially sighted people less favourably because of their disability, or because they have a guide dog with them.

“At first, I used to argue my case,” said Mahomed.

“But now, I just don’t into those places anymore. I go the places which accept I have a dog.”

He added: “A lot of people argue that it’s against the Muslim religion - they think dogs are dirty. But in my opinion, Vargo is no dirtier than a person.”

The owning of pet dogs is “haram”, or forbidden, under Islamic law because animals are considered unclean.

Mahomed said because of that, he believed many blind or visually impaired people in the Asian community did not get a guide dog as they are fearful of peoples’ reactions.

“I can’t tell my friends that they will be treated fine if they have a guide dog because I would be lying,” he said.

“I think it’s all about raising awareness.”

A spokesman for Highfields Minicabs said the incident was due to “a miscommunication”.

“We don’t have a policy against not taking guide dogs - in fact we have transported lots of people with their guide dogs,” said the spokesman.
“This will not happen again.

“All I can do is apologise to the man involved.”


Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Blind ... z3Qnt7zylL

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Sight loss charity to hold educational courses for taxi drivers after blind man refused taxi in Leicester



A charity which supports people who are visually impaired is hosting an awareness course for taxi drivers after a blind man was refused a ride because he had a guide dog with him.

Vista is hoping to educate taxi drivers in Leicester and Leicestershire about sight loss by holding four, free, educational drop-in sessions on Wednesday.

The idea came after staff at the charity read a story in the Mercury about 24-year-old Mahomed-Abraar Khatri.

When he inquired why a taxi he had ordered had not turned up, he was told by the call handler that “no-one working would take guide-dogs”.

Kate Naish, who works at Vista, said: “When we read the story, we thought it was appalling.

“But we wanted to make something positive out of what had happened, so decided to run a series of awareness courses.”

Participants will be taught ‘the basics’ when it comes to assisting visually impaired people.

Steve Payne, community services manager at Vista, said: “What we’re hoping to do is teach people how to support someone with sight loss.

“Little things like taxi drivers opening the door for a visually impaired person and asking them to jump in - it’s not always that easy.

“The thing is, being visually impaired affects people in different ways.

“We want to help give people some understanding of what blind people are going through.”

Steve said it was “massively important for people to be educated about sight loss”.

“We really want to break down the social inclusion barrier, that’s our main aim,” he said.

Steve said that if the courses on Wednesday proved successful, he hoped the charity would be able to host more workshops for professionals in the future.


Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Sight ... z3SJsaagyH

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

It's nice idea, but, I don't think it'll work especially if it's optional.

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Not taking a Guide dog should mean getting that sack for the refuser.

Disagree there Bloodnock. You can't sack a self-employed driver; those who refuse to take guide dogs should have their licences revoked for ever. They disobey the law and should be treated to the full punishment the law can offer.

Has it ever been mentioned on the national news, or radio stations that its illegal to refuse a guide dog?????????

It needs to be announced on the BBC Asian channel.