..MOBILITY MATTERS
SOUTH GLOS DRIVERS SAY NEWWHEELCHAIR RULE WILL FORCE SOME OUT OFWORK
Taxi firms are cam- paigning against a “discr iminatory” rule requiring all new vehicles to be wheelchair accessi- ble - claiming it will force some drivers out of work. Sharon Shaw of PJ Cabs has launched a petition saying South Gloucester- shire
Council’s
policy, in place from April 2019, had been voted through with “total disre- gard for the drivers, the passengers and the market”. She said the move
will force up prices and warned that hailing a cab from the side of the road could become a “thing of the past”. Ms Shaw told Bris- tollive: “The market for wheelchair ac- cess in South Glou- cestershire is limit- ed and the per- centage of cars that are wheelchair ac- cessible already far exceeds the per- centage of wheel- chair reliant users. “As a collective, we believe this change to policy is discrim- inatory for so many
reasons, not least for disabled drivers, who in many cir- cumstances will be unable to manage a heavy wheelchair thus forcing them out of work. “These
forced
changes will lead to much higher fares in South Glouces- tershire - how many hackney cabs actu- ally add the extras for cases, animals, numbers of passen- gers, etc? Many reduce the metered fare to the nearest 50 pence or pound. This would all need
to change. “Disabilities come in many guises, not just wheelchair re- liant customers. Far more elderly and infirm customers request saloon cars, than prospective wheelchair custom- ers requesting a wheelchair accessi- ble vehicle. This de- cision will be dis- criminatory against them. “In South Glouces- tershire, the num- ber of hackney car- riages is already far lower
than the number of PHVs.
“With this new rule penalising hackney drivers, the per- centage will drop much further and in an already rural county, hailing a cab from the rank or
roadside will
become a thing of the past.” A South Glouces- tershire Council spokesperson said: “The new policy was considered and agreed at the coun- cil’s regulatory com- mittee
following
public consultation with specific ques- tions relating to
wheelchair accessi- bility. “This policy was given a great deal of consideration by the Committee who took in to account all views expressed in reaching their decision. “The policy applies to hackney car- riages that are being licensed for the first time from April 1, 2019. It does not apply to the private hire vehicles operat- ing in the district.” Mmmm… Are you listening, Chelten- ham Council? – Ed.
EDINBURGH RIVER SUSPENDED FOR REFUSING PARALYMPIAN AND GUIDE DOG
A private hire driver has been suspend- ed over claims he denied service to a Paralympic cycling champion and her guide dog at Edin- burgh Airport. According to the Edinburgh News, gold medallist Lora Fachie, 29, said she felt
“disgusted”
when the driver “flat out refused” to transport her and dog Tai into the city centre after jetting in on a recent Wed- nesday evening. The
visually-im-
paired athlete, who won gold in the individual pursuit at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, received a swell of support after post-
ing about her ordeal on Twitter. She wrote: “Just had a taxi driver flat out refuse to take my
#GuideDog
from @EDI_Airport not a nice welcome to Edinburgh. This is illegal @Edin- burgh_CC#Access AllAreas @guide- dogs @GDlpool #DisgracefulBe- haviour #Ignorant”. Ms Fachie later added: “To be fair the company and other taxi drivers around were dis- gusted and em- barrassed by his behaviour and in- form me they will follow it up.” Edinburgh City Pri- vate Hire has since confirmed the driv-
AUGUST 2018
Lora Fachie, with her guide dog Tai, is made an MBE by the Prince of Wales
er concerned has been suspended pending an internal investigation. The driver
reportedly
claimed to have an allergy to dogs, meaning he was unable to take the passengers. A spokesman for the private hire firm
apologised to Mrs Fachie, saying that the driver of the car had been “person- ally reported by one of the directors”. He added:
“At this
point, we can only apologise to the customer for any i n c o n v e n i e n c e caused by the driver
concerned. “Our airport staff immediately dis- patched the job to the second avail- able vehicle rather than the lady be delayed any further. The driver was sus- pended from the system and told to report to our head office to speak to one of the directors next morning.” Pamela Munro, en- gagement officer at Guide Dogs Scot- land, said: “We were extremely concern- ed to hear that Lora was told her guide dog wasn’t allowed into a taxi. Without the
appropriate
legal exemption, it is a criminal offence for taxis to refuse a
passenger who is accompanied by an assistance dog, not to mention very upsetting for the person involved.” She added:“As a charity, Guide Dogs is always happy to work with service providers to help them develop a better understand- ing of the needs of guide dog owners and their duties under the Equality Act.” Mmmm… This driver was suspended from working by his base operator. What about the council? What about fines and possible revoca- tion?! That’s the only way to stop these access refusals – Ed.
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