Difference North East has heard about drivers leaving after seeing a wheelchair, passengers being refused and people being unable to find a suitable vehicle when they need to travel.
The Disabled People’s Organisation is collecting disabled people’s accounts of inaccessible taxi services to strengthen the case for change.
Difference North East’s analysis found that around 6% of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles in the North East were wheelchair accessible. Nationally, the figure was 11.5%.
But the number of licensed vehicles tells only part of the story. Disabled people need accessible vehicles to be available where and when they need them. They also need to know that a driver will not refuse the journey because of their access requirements.
A Difference North East member travelling with a guide dog described being refused by a taxi at a train station: “The driver took one look at the dog and said, ‘Sorry, I can’t do it,’ and drove off. It was 10 o’clock at night.”
Christopher Hartworth, Director at Difference North East, said:
“Have you ever tried to get a taxi, only to be told that none are available, perhaps when going out on a Friday or Saturday night or trying to get home late at night? It is frustrating. For many disabled people, this is not an occasional inconvenience but a routine barrier. We have heard that, in some areas, disabled people’s best chance of finding a wheelchair-accessible taxi is between 10am and 2pm. Outside those hours, a suitable vehicle can be extremely difficult to find, and disabled people have told us they cannot reliably book one in advance.”
He added: “Not being able to rely on a taxi has consequences far beyond an individual journey. It can mean being late for work, missing a medical appointment, turning down an invitation or being unable to participate in community life. It restricts people’s choices and forces disabled people to rely on family and friends for journeys that non-disabled people can make without advance planning. Difference North East is asking disabled people across the region to share their experiences so that councils, MPs and the Government understand what it is really like when disabled people try to use taxis. Their evidence will help us show where the same problems keep happening and what needs to change.”
Difference North East is calling for a national plan to increase the number of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, backed by a minimum requirement for every licensed fleet and funding to help drivers meet the cost.
It also wants mandatory disability equality training, clear information about vehicle accessibility, ways to book by telephone as well as online, a single accessible complaints system and effective enforcement when disabled passengers are refused or treated unlawfully.
People can share their experiences by emailing [email protected]. They can choose to have their experience quoted anonymously, and Difference North East will check permission before quoting or sharing any response.
