Blind woman forced to walk home as she's 'refused taxi over guide dog'
A blind woman claims she was left to walk home in the rain after her taxi driver wouldn't let her in with her guide dog.
Adele Kinch had travelled from her home in Southport with partner Steven Yates to visit his mother last Tuesday. They had hired a private vehicle from Radio Cabs Ashton and Swift Radio Cars to get from Stalybridge train station to their destination, but say they were ‘refused a taxi’ twice by staff.
They claim they were refused a cab because of guide dog Zebedee and would have to "wait for a dog-friendly" car - leaving them little choice but to walk a mile home in the rain.
“We wanted to visit my mum in Stalybridge, I rang what I thought was two different taxi companies - though I’ve now found out they were amalgamated recently into one company,” Steven told the Manchester Evening News.
“I phoned to ask for a taxi for my partner who is blind and has a guide dog. She was told she would have to wait because she had a dog.
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“We were told we had to wait for a ‘dog-friendly’ taxi – but a guide dog is allowed in any vehicle. We had to walk from the station to my mum’s, it’s about a mile. It was really infuriating.”
Steven and Adele went to visit Steven's mother last Tuesday (Steven Yates)The law states that under the Equality Act 2010 taxi and private hire drivers are still obliged to carry guide dogs and assistance dogs at no extra cost to the passenger.
In the case of taxis and private hire vehicles, refusing a person accompanied by a working assistance dog without a valid medical exemption certificate is a criminal offence, says the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.
The organisation said: "It is unlawful in all but the most exceptional circumstances to refuse access to a disabled person accompanied by a guide dog. It is also unlawful to provide an inferior level of service because of a guide dog, for example, only allowing guide dog owners to use cars that permit pets.
"You are also not allowed to impose additional charges, such as cleaning charges, because someone is accompanied by a guide dog."
More advice from the charity reads that dogs are trained to sit in the footwells of vehicles like taxis, saying: "When traveling, guide dogs are trained to sit at their owner’s feet at all times, not to bother other people and not to climb on seats."
Steven also uses a mobility scooter (Steven Yates)“This sort of thing does happen, not regularly, but it does happen. After we had the problems getting a taxi, we decided we were just going to walk,” added Adele.
“There had been a bit of rain, but I had taken off my guide dog’s coat because that’s what I normally do when I get a taxi and had thought that was what we were going to do.
“By the time we got halfway there walking, the heavens opened, which didn’t help, and we were drenched by the time we got there.”
Steven, who also uses a mobility scooter, says he was left angry. “It just leaves you wondering when it’s going to happen again. It makes you angry.
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“We were wondering how we were going to get back and how we’re going to see my mum again if we get refused next time. It’s upsetting.”
The couple claims they faced yet more problems trying to get home with the same private hire company. “I rang them again at around 6pm to be back at the station for 6.30pm and they did eventually send a taxi out for us,” explained Steven. “But the car they sent was so small that my partner and the dog were very squashed.
“It was also so late that it made us miss our train home. We had to get a train to Bolton and then found out that we’d have to wait a really long time for a connecting train back to Southport.
“My partner’s parents ended up paying for a taxi back to Southport for us, it was £60. We got back about 9.30pm.”
When approached for comment, staff at Radio Cabs Ashton and Swift Radio Cars confirmed they are now the same company after recently joining together.
The couple say they have complained to the private hire company, Tameside Council and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. The Guide Dogs organisation has shared legal advice.
Senior Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager, Chris Theobald, told the MEN: "We cannot comment on the specifics of this incident. However, the law on access rights for guide and other assistance dogs is clear; taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers are legally required to carry assistance dogs and not charge extra for this service.
"Only drivers with a medical exemption certificate from their licensing authority are exempt from this requirement. Drivers who fail to comply can be prosecuted, fined up to £1,000, and the driver’s licence can be suspended or revoked."
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