Taxi Driver Online

Norwich: ABC Taxis investigate claim of homophobic comments

An investigation has been launched by a city taxi firm after a mum claimed she was left in tears following homophobic comments by one of its drivers.

Julie Elvin, 54, was travelling from a maternity appointment at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to her Marlpit home last Thursday with her pregnant daughter Tara.

They allege they were having a conversation about Tara's baby’s movements when the driver joined in and mentioned his seven-year-old daughter being taught at school about "two women having a baby".

The mother and daughter were travelling with ABC Taxis, the parent company of which is "urgently" investigating the claim after being approached by this newspaper and has said it "deplores any abuse of passengers".

With a slight language barrier causing some confusion, they claim the driver then proceeded to say that two women or two men having a baby is "disgusting" and "if this is allowed the world will end".

Tara, 28, said: "The driver seemed to be getting irate even though we did not participate in the conversation, and suggested a man was not a man if he is gay."

A mum of four, two of Julie's children identify as LGBTQ+.

She says her son Harrison is gay and daughter Sophie is queer, and thanks to their acceptance in life had never experienced hate.

"When the penny dropped, we realised what he was talking about," Julie said. "It was vile.

"I wondered if I was actually hearing this, it was so surreal. I knew I had to say something."

When arriving home, they say they told the driver of their upset and how it had offended them, particularly due to the make-up of their immediate family.

The driver reportedly apologised but maintained his point of view.

"I suppose I am a bit naïve - you hear about people that hate people because of who they love but I have never actually come face to face with it," Julie added.

"When I got inside, I was heartbroken and stunned that people should have to go through that.

"It felt personal, like he was telling me that my son was less of a man because of who he loves. I just wanted to hug my son to protect him.

"Norwich is full of LGBTQ+ people so he would have come across them before and it's horrible to know he has these prejudices against them."

Tara has since lodged a formal complaint with ABC Taxis, which has been operating in Norwich since 1994.

The firm announced in November that its fleet of 340 taxis had new owners as digital hire firm Veezu had completed a takeover.

A spokesman for the Wales-based firm said: “We have been made aware of alleged comments made by a driver-partner on a journey in Norwich.

"The company deplores any abuse of passengers, and particularly such comments as the ones alleged.

"We are therefore urgently investing this complaint."

One of Norfolk's largest taxi firms, ABC states on its website that it is "committed to achieving the best customer service possible" and says its drivers are "positive, self-motivated and passionate individuals who are committed to doing their best".

The firm’s drivers are not employed directly by ABC and operate as self-employed under the brand name.

Of the incident, Tara concluded: "We were shocked at what we had just listened to, how he was ranting and getting angry although he was the only one in the conversation.

"We continued the rest of the journey in silence as we wanted to make sure we got home and he didn’t start driving erratically because we disagreed with his comments."

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IDFIMH

I'm kind of the same. All this reads like the kind of stuff you read about on Twitter, but never actually come face to face with it

People are free to do their own thing, but please don't keep harping on about it or trying to pick a fight with the other 95% of the population who are not Gay or Transgendered just because they dont share the "Look at me" agenda of certain minority groups.

I quite agree why can't non gay people be allowed to keep their noses out

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

A wee bit of an update on this. Seems everyone's happy now that the driver has agreed to watch a diversity video. And the punters have had their fare refunded

(Just the updated stuff, and not the rehash of what happened.)


Norwich: ABC Taxis takes action over homophobic comments

https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/23 ... -comments/

[...]The alleged comments during the journey left Mrs Elvin, a mum of two LGBTQ+ children, in tears with Tara lodging a formal complaint that evening.

A spokesman for ABC confirmed to this newspaper that it has "urgently investigated" the complaint, with a member of ABC's management getting in touch with Tara shortly after.

She was informed that ABC have had a sit-down conversation with the driver and there would be grounds to 'disengage' him should the complaint stand up.

But following the meeting, the driver has shared his apologies and is remorseful for upsetting his passengers, has been instructed to watch a video on diversity.

ABC has also refunded the cost of Julie and Tara's trip.

Tara said: "It feels better now we've heard from ABC - it feels like we've had some acknowledgement of the situation and the driver knows what he needs to do to improve so this doesn't happen to anybody else.

"It's a relief there is something being done."

The spokesman added: "We can confirm that we have carried out an investigation into alleged comments made by a driver-partner on a journey in Norwich on Thursday, February 16.

"We reiterate that this company deplores any abuse of passengers, particularly the ones alleged."

What Diversity Video is that "Bobby does Dallas"!

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IDFIMH

Have they, or has the driver-partner?

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IDFIMH

Not sure how this is going to help, but hey ho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtJeSrXuQ68

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IDFIMH

Anyone struggling with the difference between gay and queer etc could do worse than watch this. It's not very long...the longer explanations are just plain confusing

https://twitter.com/unholygaygoat/statu ... 1409844226