JANUARY 2009
...MATTERS
STICKING UP FOR RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED IN BURTON
A disabled man is fight- ing for the rights of disabled and elderly people after he found he was unable to get a cab from Burton’s High Street.
Malcolm Stone, 59, of Winshill, had to walk from High Street to a taxi rank because no taxi service was able to pick him up due to the new town centre electric bollard system.
The system, which aims to eradicate unau- thorised traffic from the pedestrianised area, began operation in November.
Mr Stone has been on crutches for 35 years after he fell 35ft through a roof while working. Mr Stone told the Bur- ton Mail: “I am not putting up with this. I have made it clear to the borough council that they can’t do this to disabled people, as we have got rights.
“I simply can’t walk that far. What would have happened if I had col- lapsed on the way? “Taxis should never be stopped from going through the town at any time and there should be a law to allow them to do this.
“I am very distressed. I am willing to stick up for Burton’s pensioners and disabled people, as well as the taxi services, so that they can get through the town between 10am and 3pm.”
An East Staffordshire Borough Council spokesman said: “Taxis which are adapted to carry disabled people don’t need a pass when entering the controlled zone between the per- mitted hours of 8am to 10am, and 4pm to 7pm. “Basically, the hackney carriage drivers simply have to press an inter- com button placed next to the bollards and
speak to the control centre in Burton. “The control centre has a list of licensed hack- ney carriages that are, as part of their licence, entitled to carry dis- abled passengers. On confirmation that they are using High Street for picking up or drop- ping off and are on the list, the bollards will be lowered for them. “Of course, it has meant a limit on the access for taxis between 10am and 4pm, but that is what the bollard system is about, making the area pedestrian friendly and removing vehicles from the pedestrianised area during the peak shopping time.”
Meanwhile, the elec- tronic bollards were expected to be back in action after the system was switched off within 24 hours of becoming operational after being hit by at least four cars.
ONLY ONE TAXI FOR NAILSEA’S DISABLED
A disability charity in Nailsea is calling for more taxis to accommo- date disabled people. There are currently only six taxis in the district which can carry wheel- chairs. Taxi drivers are also not given training to assist disabled passengers into their vehicles. Chris Baker, chairman of Nailsea Disability Ini- tiative, said: “There are only six taxis which are accessible for disabled people.
“Regular taxis aren’t able to fit wheelchairs in and we’ve got to be able to transfer our- selves into the taxi as there are issues with health and safety.” Mr Baker, who was left paralysed down the right side of his body, does not use a wheel- chair but has balance problems which makes it difficult for him to get on and off of buses.
He told the Clevedon Times: “Transport is very difficult for dis- abled people. Not all buses have low steps for disabled people to get on, and one side of Nailsea and Backwell Train Station doesn’t have a ramp.
“The other side is not as accessible as it should be because it’s too steep.”
Backwell Access Group is also supporting the campaign for more taxis.
Member Andy Hull, aged 48, of Longthorn in Backwell, is wheel- chair-bound due to MS and is unable to get out of his wheelchair. He said: “We are rather badly served. I can’t get out of my wheelchair so I need a taxi which is big enough to fit it in without folding it up. There’s only one in Nailsea which we can use. “I think it would be
good if more taxis were put on for people in wheelchairs.”
Nailsea Cars is the only firm in Nailsea with a disability friendly taxi. A spokesman from the firm said: “The driver does quite a lot of jour- neys for disabled people each week. “People who want to get a specific vehicle can do, but the problem we’ve got is that they are extremely expen- sive to run. One of our drivers decided that they wanted to buy one and it’s been running for a few years now.” A North Somerset Council spokesman said: “There’s nothing in the licensing policy which says taxis have to have disabled access.
“If legislation is passed which changes the licensing regime then that’s something we will adopt.”
PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
81
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136
