MOBILITY MATTERS
WIGAN PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER FINED £80 FOR REFUSING GUIDE DOG IN CAR
A private hire driver has been prosecuted for refusing to allow a guide dog into his vehicle. Responding to a complaint from a member of the public, St Helens Council’s licensing department filed a case against taxi driver Florin-Constantin Caliman. Following an investigation, Constantin Caliman from Wigan, was prosecuted for failure to carry a disabled person who was
accompanied by an assistance dog under the provisions of The Equality Act 2010. After pleading guilty at Liverpool Magistrates' Court, the driver was ordered to pay an £80 fine, £120 in costs and a £32 victim surcharge. Welcoming the outcome, Councillor Kate Grocutt, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy, Business and Skills, said: “The council is
aware that disabled people are particularly reliant on taxi and private hire vehicle services. “Assistance dogs are vital to their owners’ safety and the council will not hesitate to take robust action to
investigate and prosecute
licensees in response to cases of discrimination to ensure that all operators and licensed drivers treat their role in providing an inclusive service seriously.”
WHEELCHAIR USER FORCED TO STAY IN LIBRARY OVERNIGHT DUE TO WAV SHORTAGE IN BELFAST
A 27-year-old woman was left stranded in Belfast city centre as she was unable to get a wheelchair accessible taxi after her car broke down. Caitriona Brauder had to stay overnight in a south Belfast library, and was unable to use the toilet for 14 hours.
The disability transport charity Motability tried to get a vehicle on her behalf but nothing was available. There are 354 wheelchair acces- sible taxis in Northern Ireland, down from 373 last year. Ms Bauder said this is an ongoing issue and it is not getting better. “I am a 27 year old adult - I should be able to go to Belfast myself and know that I have a way of getting home. “I don’t think there’s been much change, it’s pretty static and I think it’s getting worse.” On Saturday night, Ms Bauder was in Belfast to celebrate an
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anniversary with her partner when things took a turn for the worse - her own adapted carbroke down. Catriona said she tried multiple taxi firms who said they couldn’t help and it’s not the first time it has happened. “They [taxi firms] were making out it was a bad night, too late to get one and that the drivers that were driving these types of cars were off or seemed to be no luck that night. “But that’s not the case because it is happening all the time, it wasn’t just that night,” she added. A Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said there are currently 354 wheelchair acces- sible taxis of the kind that can be hailed and pre-booked, but said there might be others operating along set routes or as chauffeur services.
In the end, Caitriona was forced to take shelter in a library and waited 14 hours with no toilet access until a friend could drive her home to
Dungannon in an accessible car. “100% grateful that we had that [library option], without it we wouldn’t have had anywhere else to go. “I don’t know what would have happened but it’s not ideal at all and it also raises the other issue of having no accessible Changing Places toilet that I can use as well. So it was 14 hours of needing to use the bathroom and I couldn’t.” Caitriona said she contacted Motability, a charity that helps disabled people get accessible transport. “The Motability service started ringing ambulance services, they were ringing airport services to get anything - trying every possible option that they could.” Ms Bauder added: “I’m still trying to get back to what I was before. Sitting all night in a chair is not good for me and I have had pain and discomfort and generally not feeling good from that.”
JANUARY 2024 PHTM
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