MOBILITY MATTERS GWYNEDD TAXI DRIVER SUSPENDED OVER HIS


TREATMENT OF ‘VULNERABLE’ PASSENGER WITH GUIDE DOG


A Gwynedd taxi driver


had his


licence suspended for a week after refusing to transport a visually impaired passenger who had a guide dog. According to the Daily Post, the sus- pension came to light at a meeting of the council’s licens- ing committee amid confirmation that the authority is con- tinuing to clamp down on taxi drivers who “cherry-pick” passengers to try to land bigger fares. The “serious” inci- dent, which was said to have taken place recently, saw an unidentified driver


taxi refuse to


transport the “vul- nerable” member of the public as the


intended journey was “too short”. Meeting in Caernar- fon on Monday 9 September, the gen- eral licensing com- mittee rubber-stamp- ed a rise in the max- imum hackney car- riage fare. The move, which was initially recom- mended in July, will see the maximum cost of a two-mile journey


increase


from £5 to £6 fol- lowing a request from taxi companies in the county. The first such in- crease since 2011, the move follows a decision by the authority in June 2018 to hike the cost of licences for both drivers and opera- tors in order to cover the council’s


own administrative overheads. But after concerns were raised over the growing issue of drivers “cherry-pick- ing” fares, coun- cillors were also told by officers about the incident where a taxi driver refused to take a member of the public who had use of a guide dog. Evidence was pre- sented and the taxi driver was contact- ed, following refusal to take the fare as it was a short one, and his licence was sus- pended for a week which of course hit him directly in the pocket. Officers noted that most complaints in- volved taxi


firms


complaining about rival companies, but


TAXI TRIKES TRIGGER ALLERDALE LICENSING DEBATE


Councillors have ag- reed to look at the idea of


licensing


electric three-wheel- ed bikes in the same way as taxis. The move comes after Keswick-based Amy’s Care asked about


However, the tri- cycles would be classed as hackney carriages when used commercially and would


therefore charging


people to use their proposed trishaw taxi service to pro- vide much needed extra income for the charity. According to the News and Star, the organisation, which helps isolated elder- ly people, has al- ready trialled their use around Keswick free of charge.


18


have to be licensed. Concerns were also raised by several Allerdale councillors that allowing one operator to set up shop in the town would open the “floodgates” for oth- ers to do the same. They also expressed fears over road safe- ty and congestion but agreed to vote the plans through to the next


stage,


which will see the launch of a public


consultation. Keswick councillor Allan Daniels said he was “very happy” for the bikes to operate in the park but did not feel they would be appropri- ate for “crowded” roads in the popular tourist town. Rebecca Dooley, director of Amy’s Care, told a licens- ing meeting that the charity hopes to offer rides around the town to tourists for a fee to help pro- vide a cash boost for the charity. She added that there are no wheelchair taxis in Keswick.


“very little” evidence was being present- ed. Despite this, they were “con- vinced” that it was happening, hence the council crack- down on the “unfair” practice. According to the council, “cherry pick- ing” usually happens


late at night and into the early morning, but is on the rise in the county. Speaking in Decem- ber, Cllr Dafydd Meurig said: “Taxi drivers who ‘cherry- pick’ passengers in an attempt to land bigger fares face having their licences


revoked. This illegal practice not only endangers the safe- ty of customers but also undermines the efforts of private hire and taxi drivers who work hard and operate within the law to deliver a high-quality service in Gwynedd.”


MILTON KEYNES DRIVERS GIVEN A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH


Tests on several taxi journeys in Milton Keynes have indicat- ed that drivers have learned they must accept assistance dogs. Marty the Labrador and his owner joined in with the test purchase org- anised jointly by South Northamp- tonshire (SNC) and Milton


Keynes


Councils in August. In total five drivers were either pre-


booked or hailed on the street and all accepted the fare. Councillor Dermot Bambridge, SNC’s portfolio holder for environmental ser- vices, said: “Both councils have unfor- tunately had to take enforcement action against drivers in recent years for refusing to take assistance dogs. “Their worry over a few dog hairs can cause great distress


to their owners so we’re very glad the drivers we used on the day knew and followed the rules.” Depending on the circumstances, taxi drivers who refuse to take assistance dogs risk a formal warning or points on their taxi licence which could result in the revocation of their licence if the sanction puts them over the limit of 12 points.


DISABLED MAN’S WHEELCHAIR TOPPLED OVER IN BRISTOL TAXI


A man in a wheel- chair suffered a seri- ous head injury after his wheelchair top- pled over inside a Bristol taxi. According to the Bristol Post, the taxi driver, who has had his licence revoked, pushed the man into the back of his cab and


put his


wheelchair’s brake on but failed to secure it. During the journey, the wheelchair top-


pled backwards and the man suffered a head injury. He had to go to hospital and underwent a CT scan to check for serious damage, and was treated in hos- pital. The incident came to light after a com- plaint was made to Bristol City Council and details were dis- cussed at a council committee held to review the taxi driv- er’s licence.


Councillors on the city council’s Public Safety and Protec- tion


Committee


heard the driver, who has not been named, had a ‘lengthy previ- ous history’, ac- cording to the Neighbourhood En- forcement Officer who gave evidence to the committee. The committee de- cided to revoke the taxi driver’s licence with


immediate effect. OCTOBER 2019


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