A disabled husband has described feeling like a 'second class citizen' after a taxi driver who was booked to pick him and his wife up drove off after seeing their assistance dog. Gavin Griffiths, 49, spoke of the ordeal he and wife Mel Griffiths, 57, went through following the incident.
The couple, who are both blind and live in Arnold, had booked a taxi in July 2021. But when the taxi arrived, the Griffiths were waiting on the pavement with their guide dogs. And the vehicle turned around and drove off, leaving the couple stranded.
Despite pleading not guilty, Rajan Anwar, 52, was convicted by a district judge of failing or refusing to carry out a private hire booking for a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog. This was after hearing evidence from Mr Griffiths and considering evidence obtained from his phone and Uber, which supported the prosecution's case.
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The judge ruled the reason Anwar, of Newquay Avenue in Nottingham, failed to fulfil the booking was due to the presence of the guide dogs, not a flat tyre, as Mr Anwar claimed. Anwar was fined £288, ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £100 in compensation to each of the Griffithses, as well as a contribution of £500 towards the prosecution costs.
Following the court ruling, Mr Griffith said: "It is one of those sort of bitter sweet kind of things - yes it's good we get justice for being refused access to a taxi, the same as everyone else. It is unfortunate that the driver decided to come up with a story to contradict what we were saying."
Mr Griffith said such an incident had left him feeling like a "second class citizen". He explained that at the time of the incident, he and his wife were angry. But he said: "The first thing that was on both our minds was 'here we go again', as it wasn't the first time and it wasn't the last."
He claimed the couple had experienced similar issues with other drivers and organisations in the past. Mr Griffith said around three months after the incident in July 2021 he had a similar experience with another taxi.
In the last five and a half years, Mr Griffith said he has probably experienced similar situations "at least 25 times" with his guide dog, yet never had an issue when he used his cane. He said "it is discrimination".
He said: "It's happened before then and it will happen again. It makes you feel like a second class citizen, as your money and your business is not as good as someone who hasn't got a guide dog with them.
"The law says you have to take a disabled person with an access dog and if you are not prepared to do that then stop taxi driving as that's the law. We were lucky that we also had great support from Gedling's taxi licensing department at Gedling Borough Council.
"It's only a shame that not all licensing authorities take it the same way, there's plenty out there that do not take it seriously." Speaking of the incident, Gedling Borough Council portfolio holder for public protection, Councillor David Ellis said: "We are pleased with the court's decision to hold Mr Anwar accountable for his actions, this case serves as a reminder that discrimination against disabled individuals and their assistance animals is illegal and will not be tolerated.
"I would like to thank the Licencing Team for their sterling work in gathering the evidence to be able to prosecute the driver and I hope that Mr and Mrs Griffiths are not treated in this way ever again." Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion, Cllr Neghat Khan, added: “Our Taxi Licensing service has worked collaboratively to support Gedling Borough Council colleagues secure this important conviction.
“The City Council stands in unity with Gedling to promote the equality of access to services for those that are disabled. The vast majority of drivers and operator companies also share this desire to support people according to their need and this includes accommodating assistance dogs.
"As the driver is licensed by the City Council and has been convicted of this offence, the Taxi Licensing service will be reviewing the licence to carefully consider what proportionate action is deemed appropriate. It does not matter where you are driving your taxi, action will be taken as we do cross-border collaboration and we will not tolerate any sort of discrimination.”
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