(Reprinted from “Taxinews.”)
We don’t know what has been going on in some cab drivers’ minds over the past few months, but Municipal Licensing and Standards has noticed a disturbing increase in the number of complaints registered by blind people with guide dogs being refused taxi service.
Where possible, charges have been laid and we know of one driver who has been fined $1,000 in Bylaw Court and was whacked with a 30-day license suspension by the Licensing Tribunal, as well as having to retake a good large chunk of the standard cab driver training course.
We totally support the efforts of authorities to get the few morons out there refusing service to clean up their acts.
There is absolutely NO reason to refuse service to any individual with a guide dog. Period. It is both illegal and utterly immoral to refuse these customers.
Some try to weasel out of their despicable behavior by trying to spout the bogus excuse that they have religious reasons to not let dogs into their cabs. No religion on Earth prohibits serving the blind accompanied by guide dogs. Leaders of both main sects of Islam, Suni and Shiite, confirm that there is NO religious prohibition to this service. NONE!
You say you have allergies? The proper course of action is to politely explain to the customer that you have a medical problem, call for a replacement vehicle and wait with the customer until the next cab comes. Then be prepared to prove you have a long-standing allergic reaction to dogs, in a courtroom, to a judge who is undoubtedly going to be skeptical at best.
Better yet, smarten up and treat these people with the same courtesy and high level of service you’d give to any other passenger.