A partially sighted man who is legally registered blind was denied a taxi ride after the driver claimed that he had 'allergies', despite not being in possession of an exemption certificate. On June 13, Elliott Ainley and his guide dog 'Legend' hailed down a cab outside of Hull Paragon Station in order to get a ride home after their usual bus service was disrupted.
As Elliott prepared to enter the taxi, the driver denied him access as a result of his guide dog, claiming that he had 'allergies'. When Elliott asked the driver to showcase his exemption certificate, a legal requirement needed to deny guide dogs access, he was unable to do so, putting him in breach of both the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Equality Act 2010.
After an uncomfortable exchange, Elliott and Legend were still refused access and forced to wait for another taxi, Hull Live reports.
In a current time where rail strikes have made public transport unreliable, Elliott is affronted that the taxi driver in question was so unaccommodating of someone with a disability. He has since filed a complaint about the incident and hopes that others will not have to live through the same experience.
Elliott said: "After I told the driver he was breaking the law by refusing to take us, he changed his tune slightly and offered to carry us. However, he wanted to place my guide dog in the boot with a back seat folded down so Legend could stick his head through into the passenger compartment, which is also illegal.
"The law states that assistance dogs must not be separated from their owner, so we couldn’t travel. Being stressed at this we walked to wait outside the Station Hotel for a few minutes to de-stress before we tried to get another taxi, which thankfully we managed to do and got home.
"I have reported the incident to Licensing at Hull City Council and also Trans Pennine Express, as well as requesting any available CCTV footage, so the incident has started to be investigated. However, as guide dog refusals by taxis seem to be sadly on the increase, I feel the incident needs publicising to raise awareness as it is very much needed to help educate people and prevent this from happening again."
Former head of the Hull Hackney Carriage Association, Peter Nilsson said: "The rules are simple, hackney carriage drivers have to take guide dogs as it is part of the regulations, much like wheelchairs. You can get an exemption certificate, but the only way you can get one is by being allergic to dogs.
"If that exemption certificate is not in the window, then chances are that the driver just doesn't want a dog in his taxi. We are professional drivers doing a professional job, and to deny members of the public with disabilities access to our taxis is disgusting.
"In my opinion, if a driver denies a guide dog access when they are not exempt, they should have their licence removed and never be allowed to be a taxi driver again."
A spokesperson for Hull City Council said: "This case has been brought to our attention and we are investigating it. Whilst we obviously can’t comment on this specific case until the investigation has concluded, we can say that as a matter of policy unless they have an exemption certificate, most licensed drivers are expected to carry assistance dogs."
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