A Blind Man With a Guide Dog Were Refused by Taxis More Than 30 Times
“I can’t bear the pain and feeling of shame”
A blind man who uses taxis and self-hire cars to get to work says he and his guide dog have been turned away more than 30 times by some drivers.
Stephen Anderson, 32, who works as a London church administrator, filmed the incident with his dog Barney and sent them to Transport for London (TfL). His practice has seen a dozen successful cases.
TfL says it is taking action against minicab drivers who refuse to carry guide dogs. Under section 170 of the Equality Act, it is an offense for a private driver to refuse access to a guide dog and its owner.
“Sorrow and Shame”
Mr Anderson said: “I don’t know if I’ll ever get another guide dog in the future just because I can’t deal with the pain and shame that comes from people treating me so badly. himself. . “Even when I tell them, they will say it’s not a violation because ‘it’s my car’.”
Mr Anderson hopes that the private hire and taxi companies will take steps to prevent their drivers from discriminating against blind and partially sighted people.
TfL said it had taken action “against minicab drivers refusing to transport passengers and their guide dogs”. Mr. Anderson is not the first to defend his rights regarding guide dogs.
In November, a blind woman and her dog were evicted from a London Premier Inn after they were accused of lying about her service dog. Angharad Paget-Jones, 29, said she was woken up and asked for ‘proof’ that her dog Tudor was a nominal guide dog.
He said that after he issued a guide dog identification card, security officials accused Tudor of being a “fake” guide dog. At the time, Premier Inn said it was investigating the allegations urgently.
Blind woman and her guide dog run out of London’s Premier Inn
A blind woman and her guide dog were kicked out of London’s Premier Inn overnight after they were accused of lying about her guide dog. Angharad Paget-Jones, 29, said she was woken up and asked for ‘proof’ that her dog Tudor was a nominal guide dog.
He said that after he issued a guide dog identification card, security officials accused Tudor of being a “fake” guide dog. Premier Inn said it was conducting an urgent investigation into the allegations.
It is illegal to deny people with disabilities access to guide dogs. Ms Paget-Jones, a data analyst and disability rights campaigner from Port Talbot, said she was ‘forced out of the Premier Inn in Enfield, in the middle of the night’ during her stay on Saturday 바카라사이트.
‘No dog’
She posted her experience on Twitter, saying that despite arriving at the hotel safely at around 8:00 GMT with her guide dog Tudor on a fluorescent guide leash, the problem arose when her boyfriend went on a trip when he fell asleep in the evening. Ms Paget-Jones said hotel staff stopped her boyfriend on the way home saying ‘there was no dog’ and he was ‘asked for evidence’ that Tudor was a guide dog.
She said: “My boyfriend said he was a guide dog and he was sure I would get him some ID and I could give it to him in the morning.” Explain. “They didn’t let him go and they went up to the bedroom and harassed me while I was half asleep. No one told me what was going on, I asked the manager to help me fix the situation. “I closed the door for my modesty because I was only in a T-shirt and underwear, but the staff kept looking for evidence that Tudor was a guide dog.”
Ms Paget-Jones added that ‘a male security guard joined the hotel staff’, and ‘they kept telling me to leave the hotel’ saying that Tudor was ‘like a fake dog leader’. .
“The staff used the master key to open the door, cracking open it looking for evidence that Tudor was a guide dog,” he said. “I showed them a yellow book that describes guide dogs and Tudor casts, called Guide Dogs, but they said that wasn’t good enough and told us to leave.
“My partner stopped calling the police, but they didn’t do anything. We were kicked out.”
The BBC has seen video of part of the incident, which appears to show Ms Paget-Jones’ yellow identity card on a bed in a hotel room. In the video, her boyfriend can be heard on the phone with the police, as the young worker tells them to ‘get out’, saying ‘if you have a dog guide you to know to bring a book’.
Ms Paget-Jones said: “I felt like I was being harassed, bullied and like my privacy had been invaded. We stayed with my parents, but I was scared that night 카지노사이트 주소. “
He added that he would take legal action against Premier Inn. The hotel company released a statement saying it was “shocked” to hear of the allegations.
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A spokesperson said: “An investigation is currently underway at this site to determine exactly what happened. We have contacted the Twitter user to fully understand the circumstances of the incident and apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
The company added that it has a “zero tolerance policy for discrimination” and that “all team members receive disability training”. The Equality and Human Rights Commission said that presenting an identity card for service dogs “is not a legal requirement, and dog workers should not be denied employment simply because they do not have an identity card”.
Blanche Shackleton of Guide Dogs said, “Guide dog owners should be able to live their lives the way they want with confidence, independence and support in the world.”
He added: “The law needs to be strengthened, so we are calling on the government to stop denying entry and ensure that, unless there is a good legal reason, dog owners are welcomed at open doors when they use businesses, shops and stores. Taxis.”
