Taxi Driver Online

Carlisle taxi driver suspended for "biggest mistake of his life"

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Carli ... 181cfd5-ds

He refused a fare from a visually impaired woman and her guide dog

A Carlisle taxi driver has said refusing a fare from a visually-impaired woman and her guide dog was the biggest mistake of his life.

Dilwar Ali had his Hackney carriage driver’s licence suspended for four weeks because he would not take Lydia Hulme and her guide dog Bertie to her Carlisle home on June 26.

He has personally apologised to Miss Hulme and when he came before Carlisle City Council’s regulatory panel he told members: “I’m sorry. It is the biggest mistake I have made in my life and it won’t happen again.”

Miss Hulme, 26, is no stranger to being left standing in the road and had already had a taxi drive off without her from the taxi rank in Warwick Road that evening. She then approached the Court Square taxi rank, near Carlisle Railway Station, at about 10.35pm, where Mr Ali’s white saloon car was first in line.

She reported that he refused to take her and Bertie, stating he had allergies, and so she asked to see an exemption certificate. But she said Mr Ali again stated “allergies” and gestured her to the next taxi.

In an interview with licensing officer Fred Watson, Mr Ali said he refused Miss Hulme because her guide dog was large and he was afraid of big dogs, having been bitten when he was 15.

And when asked if he suffered from any allergies he said he had none. At yesterday’s hearing Mr Ali, who was unrepresented, said Miss Hulme had “mistaken” their short conversation.

When asked by Mr Watson how he could carry on being a taxi driver if he was scared of dogs, Mr Ali explained that he would usually take a fare when there were two people with a dog.

He said he’s now aware of how well trained guide dogs are and that in future he would be confident in taking them.

He was reminded that by law, a taxi driver cannot refuse to carry any pets unless the person in charge of the pet is not in control.

“It’s not a small mistake from my point of view. I realised it was a huge mistake,” Mr Ali told the panel.”

Miss Hulme accepted Mr Ali’s apology and said she forgave him for his actions that night.

But she said: “It’s just upsetting that because I have got my disability, it’s hard to get a taxi.

“I have had taxis drive off before at other ranks across the country and at Carlisle.”

The panel’s chair councillor John Bell explained the reasons for the decision were that it was “unacceptable” for the driver to refuse to convey a passenger or their assistance dog. It was against the law and council policy, he said.

Mr Ali’s offence failed to comply with a duty imposed by the Equality Act 2010 in which a taxi driver must carry the disabled person’s dog and allow it to remain with that person.

“You had received training [a disability awareness course in April 2016] and still refused the fare.

“You have a duty of care and left a passenger late at night vulnerable and potentially unable to get home, so you have been suspended for a month,” said Mr Bell.

What a wanker of a specimen. Cockwombles like him have no place in the trade.

When did that law come in?

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IDFIMH

Presumably, if such a rule does exist, it's one of Carlisle's own rules.

But doubt if it's been copied by many other councils.

its not CC is it

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C. Oakes


The Hackney Association Ltd
bbha@btinternet.com

More on this lady's experiences with a guide-dog in Carlisle

Visually-impaired Carlisle woman refused taxi service several times

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Visua ... 29bd9cb-ds

Lydia Hulme has spoken out to highlight the problem

A visually-impaired woman who was refused two taxis in the same night because she has a guide dog has spoken out to highlight the problem.

Lydia Hulme was let down by two Carlisle taxi drivers when she was trying to get home on the evening of June 26 with her three-year-old Labradoodle Bertie.

But this wasn't her first experience.

The 26-year-old, from the city centre, can count at least six times when taxis have driven off or refused her, not just in Carlisle but across the UK, though there may have been times where she didn't notice.

She told the News & Star: "It's a big problem for guide dog owners. If taxi drivers drive off before you approach the rank, it's not technically a refusal because you have never reached the car so they can get away with it on the reliance the most guide dog owners don't have the level of vision to be able to read the license plate or describe the car accurately.

"It's an ongoing issue and taxi drivers do do it regularly.

"It's really difficult to approach a rank not knowing whether or not there will be a taxi there. If you know there is only one car at that rank and if that one drives off on you, which had happened to me on that night, it was then really difficult to walk round to the other rank and find that that taxi driver didn't want to take me either."

This time she reported how she had been treated. Dilwar Ali - the second driver Miss Hulme approached on June 26 - has had his Hackney carriage drivers license suspended for four weeks.

He failed to comply with a duty imposed by the Equality Act 2010, in which a taxi driver must carry the disabled person's dog and allow it to remain with that person.

When he came before the Carlisle City Council's regulatory panel on Wednesday, he told members it was the biggest mistake of his life. He also made personal apology to Miss Hulme.

"It did mean a lot. He thanked me, he said he was sorry again. I told him it was okay and that I hoped it will all go better for him when he gets his license back again in four weeks time. I look forward to seeing him again when he's out and about," she said.

"I think it was a really fair decision and he made it clear that he was very sorry for what had happened."

Generally though, she said the experience makes her feel like she's the one causing a problem.

"It's a really unfair feeling," she said, "when really all you are is just someone trying to go about their life in the same way a wheelchair user would be or a white cane user would be so it does make you feel like you're part of the problem."

Miss Hulme thinks the only way to combat the problem is to raise awareness of the issue and ensure those dealing with members of the public have the required information, training and understanding of guide dogs.

She added that taxi drivers in the past have complained that taking Bertie makes the car hairy and she's witnessed drivers making a big fuss to sweep the car clean.

"They make a really big point of the fact that you have got hair in their car and it's going to be a hassle for them or it's a problem for them or they've just had their car valeted," she said.

"It's a small price to pay to have a few hairs in your car to be able to drive."

"I hope that I don't come across the problem again in Carlisle."

Quite possible the drivers are being called off the rank to do pre-booked jobs...

Sad reflection on our trade.

Throughout the country taxi/PH drivers are refusing guide dog jobs, and refusing wheelchair jobs, from people who need us more than most.

What makes me even sadder is the thought of disabled customers worrying about getting a taxi/PH home, and maybe not going out in the first place due to that fact.

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IDFIMH

or to nip somewhere to use the facilities or nip to the mosque for prayer who knows

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