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wheelchair taxi users

2

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  • I never realised that such problems exist for wheelchair users trying to get about. I congratulate this forum for brining this to my attention and I will share the link to this site with my colleagues.

    This and other subjects discussed on this site are yet another examples of inequality that we live with.

  • I had to call for a taxi today and amazingly one was available, although I booked the taxi two hours before it was required. Although the vehicle that took me to my destination had a ramp and a wide side door entry there was not enough headroom or room to turn my chair to be secured safely. The accessible taxi booked to take me home was better but more room inside would have been preferred.

    Both drivers were very helpful and are aware of the lack of vehicles especially at peak times when they are on the school runs. P purchasing a taxi fitted out to carry 1 wheelchair at a time can cost in excess of £40,000 and these are not 100% suitable for me and my wheelchair.

    I feel that vehicle manufacturers and converters should be lobbied to supply Taxis suitable for more than just a standard manual wheelchair and local authorities encouraged to licence larger vehicles because my local council will not licence any vehicle too large to fit in the station taxi rank.

  • More wheelchair accessible taxis is the answer so local authorities and taxi operators please take notice.

  • Not sure of the licence procedures local authorities have for local taxi companies to operate but if the companies had to guarantee that a certain percentage of vehicles on their fleet were wheelchair accessible that would surely help resolve this issue.

  • I pre booked a wheelchair accessible taxi to pick me from a Christmas party and an ordinary saloon car turned up an hour late. I had to call another company and wait until midnight for a taxi to take me home. I originally booked a taxi for 10pm. My friends stayed with me.

    We must have more accessible taxis!

  • Before Christmas a group of us went to sing carols in the church but I had to go back early so a taxi was called for me and one of the support workers. I was lifted into the car but we had requested a taxi for wheelchairs. Lifting me out was painful and we had to wait for help. We need more wheelchair taxis please.

  • Yesterday I waited for over three hours for an accessible taxi to be available to take me to visit my cousin and by the time I got there it was almost time to leave. I had to call several taxi companies and wait two hours for a less than10 minute drive home.

  • Over the years we have to call for taxis and we have had all sorts of difficulties. The wheelchair of my wife is quite large so only taxis with wide doors can be used. The black cab taxis are no good because her knees hit the reverse facing fold up seat nearest to the door. Even inside the larger taxis with wide doors her wheelchair is never safely fixed in.

    The availability of the wide door taxis is limited. If we have an early morning or afternoon doctors appointment there is never a wide door taxi available because of school runs and relying on community transport is unreliable and we have missed appointments. The law should be to make more taxis available for wheelchairs.

  • I totally agree with you Mif

  • Needed to call a taxi last night to see my brother in hospital but no wheelchair taxi available. This is no good man. My first time ever to take taxi and now I know how everyone feels.

  • The last 2 taxi rides from the station to my home were okay with helpful drivers. I told the last one about my bad experience and he told me that driver is no longer working. Hopefully our complaint to the council worked.

  • Both myself and my partner are wheelchair users and it is not possible for us to travel together in regular taxis but we can order a van with a wheelchair lift in advance which is secure and has seats for our support workers. This makes impulsive outing impossible so friends come to visit us mostly.

  • This snow is frustrating and have been stuck in my friends house since Thursday but the snow is melting and I have just phoned for a taxi to take me home and was told 'NO Fxxxxxx CHANCE'.

  • I would complain to the taxi company as they should not speak to you and or anyone in that manner

  • Hey Happy it was said in the spirit of how the weather is preventing the taxi company from working and having vehicles available. I was not offended. In fact I was amused by their comment as she said it how it is. Just a shame that I could not get home for a while and out stayed my welcome.

  • Had my very first bad taxi experience last weekend. My support worker Carols car was broken so we ordered a taxi to take us from Pontypool to Raglan to meet a friend. After lunch we tried to get a taxi to take us back home and could not locally so we had to call for the same taxi to come from Pontypool but we had to wait for three hours because it was pre booked by other wheelchair users.

    I have read other peoples comments on this forum about taxis and now I understand how frustrating it is when accessible taxis are not available.

  • Last week I had an appointment and my friend Claire came with to help me so we called a taxi and the driver was great. He waited for ages outside and drove us back again and helped me and waited for free. His name was Adnan and he secured me in well.

  • Same old problem. An old friend called earlier and invited me for lunch in weatherspoons so I called all the cab companies and not one had an access able car available. We need a law insisting that wheelchair accessible taxis are always available.

  • Just returned from a visit to rural France where it is even worst. At least where we were. There was only 1 accessible old citreon van with a ramp that was not safe and nothing inside to secure wheelchairs.

  • Last weekend my friend borrowed me a wheelchair as it is hard for me to walk too far and standing for ages is painfull. We went to the con clup to celibrate a friend

  • sorry forget to finish. We had to wait over 2 hours for an accessible taxi because I was tired so had to stay in the wheelchair.

  • Is it that my invacare wheelchair is impossible to secure safely in the black cabs in Cardiff because despite asking the driver to secure me properly I have to keep my brakes on to stop moving about. I just do not feel safe. Does anyone else?

  • Taxi drivers must be trained to secure wheelchairs safely in their accessible taxis and have the correct straps for all wheelchairs. Yesterday my chair almost tipped over when turning into my road. The driver did not apologise but told me that he could not afford to have proper straps for all wheelchairs. He was securing the strap to a ring that was welded to the side of his taxi 6 inches from the floor. I did not feel safe.

  • Hi nick
    That's a terrible experience you had, hope you are ok and the taxi firm that you used should be reported to your local authority.

  • Hi Happy,Thanks for your concern. I was passing by the taxi rank yesterday and asked one of the drivers with an accessible vehicle about securing wheelchairs and he told me that he did not like taking people in wheelchairs unless they were accompanied by someone who could help to hold them in place. He told me that securing all chairs was difficult because some chairs are too big.
    Is he correct?

  • Not all wheelchair tie-down systems are suitable for all wheelchairs. For example,
    some wheelchairs exceed the weight limits for which most wheelchair tie-downs are
    intended. In these cases, the wheelchair manufacturer’s instructions will indicate
    when a different type of tie-down is needed or how to use double sets of wheelchair
    tie-downs for these wheelchairs. Other wheelchairs have over-sized tubing and
    special additional straps are required in order to fit the wheelchair tie-down. The
    requirements for the wheelchair tie-down system should be specified in the
    wheelchair manufacturer’s pre-sales literature as well as in the IFU/OM. I hope this helps you nick

  • Went to a reunion party and felt left in the cold when everyone went to an old friend’s house by taxis and I had to wait for nearly an hour for an accessible taxi for me and Mary who waited with me. We left in the early hours and the same fxxxxxx problem again. It is so difficult to be impulsive. Thinking about it now which is 4 days later makes me cry and feel depressed.

  • Hey Mandy don’t let the useless idiots get you down. I too get frustrated living in what can only best be described as a backward society. Sounds strange but stories like yours ignites my enthusiasm to better this world.

    Not sure who it was who put my name forward but in this years queens birthday honours list I was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to disabled people in Wales which will hopefully open up doors for me to tackle some of the decision makers who are not doing their jobs correctly and allowing crappy services to continue.

  • Respect you is cool man.

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