A blind man from Leicester was refused a taxi because he had his guide dog with him.
On the afternoon of Friday 30 January, 24 year old Mahomed-Abraar Khatri ordered a taxi for himself and his guide dog Vargo.
When the taxi did not arrive he rang the company to find out what was wrong.
He was told that they weren’t willing to accept his guide dog, and all of the drivers were not willing to take the guide dog in their car, even after Mr Khatri told them that it was illegal to not accept a passenger with a guide dog.
“On this occasion I just smiled, as it happens a little bit too frequently for me to be angry and upset about it now, its sad, in the beginning it really really made me cross and frustrated me”
“I think all establishments and that includes taxis, food establishments, shops, all need to know that refusing entry to a person with a guide dog is illegal and you cant ask them to leave just because they have their dog with them”
A spokesperson for Highfields Taxis said the incident was due to “a miscommunication”.
“We don’t have a policy against not taking guide dogs – in fact we have transported lots of people with their guide dogs,” said the spokesman.
“This will not happen again.
“All I can do is apologise to the man involved.”
A Leicester City Council Spokesperson said, “We are currently investigating this particular incident.
“The Equalities Act 2010 makes it clear that taxi drivers must take assistant dogs, including guide dogs, but we rely on people to report problems such as this one so we can take action.
“Taxi firms or drivers breaking the law can face a fine of up to £1,000, and on occasions where we get a successful prosecution, the council’s licensing committee can also look to revoke their license.”
