Visually impaired Coventry student refused taxi with guide dog 'because of driver's religion'

[dutchman]

Charles Boch, 22, says his Uber cab was cancelled after he told the driver of his impairment and guide dog



A visually impaired student from Coventry was refused an Uber Taxi - because the driver ‘was not allowed to be near dogs because of his religion’.

Charles Boch has only had his guide dog Carlo since January and has had a sense of independence having him by his side ever since.

But now he says he feels anxious and faces more barriers because people aren’t understanding enough, after the taxi service refused him and his dog last month.

The 22 year old, studying digital marketing and social media at Leicester’s De Montfort University, was using Uber Taxis for the first time.

Charles said: “It was the first time using the Uber taxi service and I was quite anxious.

“I ordered the taxi on the app and when I had the driver details come through I thought out of courtesy that I would ring the him in advance to tell him I am visually impaired and have a guide dog with me.

“I explained my dog is my eyes and by law and he couldn’t really refuse me and at that point he accused me of threatening him.”

The taxi driver told Charles he would be cancelling the taxi as he was ‘scared of the thought of the dog licking him’ and he would rather not have animals in his car.

Charles said: “I immediately gave feedback to Uber and just minutes later the driver rang me back telling me he was on his way to pick me up.

“He said he would give me a free ride and he was sorry, but I didn,t want to be in his taxi in case anything happened.

“The driver even said that he would ignore his beliefs and religion and accept the dog into his car.

“I made other arrangements, ending the call quickly. It is sickening for someone to say they won’t accept you and for then the next minute to say ‘I’m coming to get you now.’

“It was more just frustrating and disheartening. I feel like I'm being victimised because I have this disability.

"I’ve only recently got my guide dog in January, so I’m new to things, trying to be independent and with these sort of barriers stopping me it isn’t easy.”

An Uber spokesperson said: “We would like to again extend our sincere apologies to Mr Bach.

“It is not acceptable to refuse guide dogs. While the licensed drivers who use our app are self-employed we remind them of their legal obligation to take service animals before they can start driving.

“Any Uber partner-driver who doesn’t accept service animals not only risks having their Uber partnership revoked, but also risks having their private hire licence taken away.”

Uber Taxis, contactable through a phone app, has been running since 2009, with cabs in 409 cities worldwide.

[Melisandre]

Two Richo Taxi s have refused to take me in my electric wheel chair because they claim they fear it braking their ramp yet the exact kind of ramp on a Lewis taxi which I now use always takes me and has never refused.

[dutchman]

Two Richo Taxi s have refused to take me in my electric wheel chair because they claim they fear it braking their ramp yet the exact kind of ramp on a Lewis taxi which I now use always takes me and has never refused.

They may have a point Melisandre?

See:

Firefighters come to the rescue to get wheelchair out of Coventry taxi as ramp buckles