Shouldn't have bothered with this with hindsight in view of the number of similar articles, but had done the legwork before deciding it was largely a waste of time, so no point in deleting it.
East Kilbride taxi driver slammed for refusing blind customer's guide doghttps://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/loca ... d-14188305Margaret Sinclair was left humiliated when the cabbie left her and her trusty guide Zoe by the roadside outside her Murray home.
Image: East Kilbride News/Daily RecordA taxi firm have apologised after an elderly disabled woman was refused a fare because of her guide dog.
Blind Margaret Sinclair was left “shaken and humiliated” when the cabbie barked at her to “get another taxi” when she tried to board with her canine aid.
The 60-year-old struggles with her field of vision after a cataract left her completely blind in one eye, and can’t go anywhere without her trusty guide, Zoe.
Refusing access to someone because of their guide dog is illegal, but Margaret was left “shocked” when faced with such discrimination last week.
Having booked an EKCO taxi to take her to the town centre on Thursday, she made her way down a flight of stairs to the roadside outside her Murray home.
Aided by her furry friend, she was horrified to hear the driver shout “are you bringing that?,” before insisting ‘no dogs were allowed in his car’.
Image: East Kilbride News/Daily RecordHe then abruptly instructed her to “get another taxi,” leaving Margaret to call the company and complain – another taxi was then sent out to her.
Still shaken by the incident, Margaret told the News: “The call handler did apologise, but this shouldn’t have happened – it’s discrimination and it’s against the law.
“I was left waiting in the middle of the street, humiliated. I was really quite shocked and shaken-up by it. Your guide dog is your eyes, you can’t go anywhere without them.
“I have never had an issue with any other East Kilbride taxi companies – it’s simply not acceptable.”
EKCO Taxis confirmed they too have taken a dim view of the incident, revealing the driver would appear before South Lanarkshire Council’s licensing committee, where he could be hit with a hefty fine.
General manager Gail McCallum said: “Our driver did refuse to take the lady’s guide dog – for this we can only apologise.
“He has in the past had an allergic reaction to dogs and was not aware he had to have an exemption certificate from the council in respect of guide dogs. We have reported this to SLC and will be dealt with accordingly.”
A spokeswoman for Guide Dogs Scotland said it was sad that such instances were “not isolated incidents”.
She added: “Guide dogs are working animals, not pets, and their owners rely on them for both independence and mobility.
“It is against the law to refuse a guide dog owner in a taxi or private hire vehicle, unless the driver holds a medical exemption certificate.
“We would encourage any guide dog owners who are refused access to a taxi or private hire vehicle to report this to their licensing authority as well as to Guide Dogs Scotland, and we ask licensing authorities to have a zero tolerance policy to access refusals.”
A UK-wide survey in 2015 showed three-out-of-four assistance dog owners have been turned away from a taxi or private hire vehicle, business, service or public place because their dog ‘was not welcome’.
Margaret added: “Aside from the fact this was illegal the driver was also very abrupt and nippy with me.
“And for him to refer to Zoe as ‘that’ was just so hurtful. I waited a long time for her. She’s amazing and has made such a big difference to my life.
“Too many vulnerable people out there are taken advantage of.
“I just want to go about my life without being discriminated against.”
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