Boro Taxis, I salute you

Diversity and equality laws are a tricky thing for some businesses to navigate. Sometimes, however hard you may try, some things just aren't practical for people of a certain disability, blind airline pilots for example. And sometimes the only way to accommodate a disability  is expensive and may end up costing more for the disabled person. Just a fact of life sadly, I have size 14 feet and have to get them online (mostly), they cost more than shop brought shes for smaller sizes, I can deal with it or get cold feet.

Teesside's biggest taxi company, Boro Taxis, has announced they will not take disabled people anymore. Now before you froth at the mouth it isn't that simple. This isn't actually about disabled people as such, in fact the very laws designed to protect them, and those enforcing, have let them down badly.

When you order a taxi you order a taxi, the vehicle you travel in. Say you order a car, for one or for 4 you pay the same. If you order a mini bus you pay the mini bus rate, again this matters not how many people you put in it. Now a wheelchair needing a mini bus pays the mini bus rate for single occupancy. The larger vehicle costs considerably more to run so unless they do the driver will lose out.

Well apparently this is discrimination, the taxi company has been told it is breaking the law to charge the mini bus rate for using the mini bus. The council say this is overcharging for disabled passengers so the company may lose it's license, aside from any legal threat. Faced with the option of committing a crime or losing money they have decided to withdraw the service.

The company admits that refusing them is "morally totally wrong" but it isn't worth losing money over, and they are right. If the council want to put on cheap transport for disabled people then they should do it, not bully a private company into doing it for them at a loss.

Kudos for them for standing up for their rights.

UPDATE: They have capitulated, that old friend of the right on left, the threatened boycott, has made them throw in the towel. It isn't fair to force a business to lose money in this way, although I suspect something craftier may be in action. I mean what if every time a wheelchair user phones to book there are no mini buses available. Would be shockingly bad luck that.

Follow @RantyPantz_