Taxi Driver Online

Wheelchair user claims he was left ‘stranded’ in Northampton when taxi drivers refused to take him home


A Northampton wheelchair user says he was left stranded and at the point of tears when two Hackney Carriage taxi drivers refused to take him home in the early hours of the morning.

Former warehouse worker Peter Ford, who uses a motorised wheelchair, had been out for drinks with friends in Northampton town centre on a Saturday night.

At around 4am in the morning of February 15, he flagged down a Hackney Carriage taxi on Mercers Row, by All Saints Church.

But Mr Ford claims the cab-driver told him he could not take him to his home in Kingsthorpe Hollow because his wheelchair was ‘too heavy’.

Minutes later Mr Ford tried again with a different taxi driver, and was told he could not get in his cab because the driver was ‘not qualified to take that kind of chair’.

Mr Ford, 42, said he was reduced to tears when both cabs drove off and left him effectively stranded in the early hours of the morning.

“I wasn’t particularly under the influence,” he said. “I wasn’t rude to either men, I’m not that sort of guy.

“It did really drag me down. I know I’m 42, but I’ll be honest I burst out crying, I was just so disgusted about the whole thing.

“It really hurts inside the fact they just refused to take me.”

Northampton Borough Council, which is the licensing authority for Hackney Carriages in the town, says it is now looking into the incident and will be checking CCTV footage around that time.

Two policemen saw Mr Ford by Mercers Row and gave him a taxi number to call.

He was eventually taken home by Tony O’Callaghan of the Fallow Walk-based Black Cab Company, a taxi driver of 29 years, who also drives a near identical Hackney Carriage to the two men who allegedly refused to take Mr Ford.

Grandfather of five, Mr O’Callaghan said: “When I pulled up he was absolutely in tears. But he was quite sober.

“The fact the drivers told him they couldn’t take him is absolute rubbish.

“We are all kitted out with ramps. If we haven’t got the facilities, then the vehicles are not allowed to be on the road, simple as that.”

Mr Ford, who was left paralysed from the waist down after an accident at work in 2008, said he was contemplating driving his motorised wheelchair all the way back to his home on the morning of February 15.

He said that would have been dangerous at that time of the morning, as there would be no one around to help him up if he were to hit a hole in the road and be thrown out of the chair.

He said he would have also been left vulnerable to robbery or assault due to his limited mobility.

A Northampton Borough Council spokesman said: “We will be carrying out a full and thorough investigation into this complaint, which will include examining any available CCTV footage and tracking down the two police officers who apparently assisted this gentleman.

“We are keeping Mr Ford updated on the progress of our investigation.”

Hackney Carriages must comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and be able to carry wheelchairs.

They are not permitted to turn passengers away on the grounds of disability.

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

I wonder if he carried the wheelchair in the correct position?

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Grandad,

Wrong.
Very few WAV types are capable of carrying a motorised wheelchair. If it's a TX, I doubt it was loaded or carried in a safe fashion.

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Disabled Northampton man left stranded again after taxi drivers refused to take him home


Motorised wheelchair user Peter Ford next to the taxi rank in Mercers Row. He has been left stranded in the centre of town twice after taxis refused to take him home because of his wheelchair.

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• Wheelchair user claims he has been snubbed by taxi driver four times in three weeks
  
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• Hackney Carriages are legally obliged to take wheelchair passengers
  
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• Northampton Borough Council investigating incidents

A Northampton wheelchair user who featured in the Chronicle & Echo when two taxi drivers refused to take him home in the early hours of the morning - said he was refused by cabs again at the weekend.

Former warehouse worker Peter Ford, who uses a motorised wheelchair, claims he has now been snubbed by Hackney Carriage drivers on four occasions in the last three weeks, despite the fact black cabs are required by law to take wheelchair users.


Taxi driver Tony O'Callaghan displays the ramps and straps that all black cabs carry to enable them to transport disabled passengers.

The Chronicle & Echo first reported that Mr Ford had been refused service by two cabbies on Mercer’s Row after a night out on February 15, in a story published on Saturday (March 1).

But on the same evening after the story was published Mr Ford claims he was left stranded by taxi drivers again.

He claims he had been out for a curry with friends and when he went to get a taxi home from Mercer’s Row at around 11.30pm, two separate cabbies told him they could not take his ‘type’ of wheelchair.

“I just said to the taxi driver ‘I can’t believe you are telling me this’,” Mr Ford said. “My friends were completely shocked.

“ This is getting out of hand now, it’s completely not on
Peter Ford

Mr Ford, 42, of Kingsthorpe Hollow lodged a complaint with the council about the incident on February 15 and will be lodging another complaint about the incident on March 1.

He was eventually taken home by a private taxi firm.

Northampton Borough Council, which is the licensing authority for Hackney Carriages in the town, says it is looking into the February 15 incident and will be checking CCTV footage around that time.

Tony O’Callaghan of the Fallow Walk-based Black Cab Company, drives a near identical Hackney Carriage to the two men who allegedly refused to take Mr Ford.

He said: “The fact the drivers told him they couldn’t take him is absolute rubbish.

“We are all kitted out with ramps. If we haven’t got the facilities, then the vehicles are not allowed to be on the road, simple as that.”

A Northampton Borough Council spokesman said: “We will be carrying out a full and thorough investigation into this complaint, which will include examining any available CCTV footage and tracking down the two police officers who apparently assisted this gentleman.

“We are keeping Mr Ford updated on the progress of our investigation.”

Hackney Carriages must comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and be able to carry wheelchairs.

They are not permitted to turn passengers away on the grounds of disability.

source: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/ ... -1-6611922

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

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

nice to see Tony wearing a bomber jacket

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

A pity he doesn't display the correct loading door

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

was thinking that = mind you the wheelchair looks smaller than what I imagined - so perhaps it will legally fit

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

I wonder how much it and Mr Ford weigh in total, and whether anyone would know how to put his wheelchair into manual mode. It's unsafe to allow a passenger to drive themselves up the ramp.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

No way will that ramp hold that wheelchair and the passenger, it'll fold in two.

Flying jackets Cap