Bury Council has revealed that it still has no plans to create a list of wheelchair-accessible taxis in the authority. This is despite a recent change to the Equality Act, amended in April this year, which requires taxi drivers to pay a penalty of up to £1,000 if they refuse to transport wheelchair users. This penalty also applies if taxi drivers attempt to charge disabled passengers a higher fare for their journeys.
Responsibility Lies with the Council
Bury Council is one of eight councils in the North West which is currently exempt from the latest change to the law due to their failure to act. This is because the act is only applicable if taxi drivers are on a list of wheelchair-accessible taxis. Since Bury Council has yet to create such a list, the change in the Equality Act doesn’t apply to drivers in the borough as yet.
The lists, officially named Section 17 lists, have also yet to be drafted by Rochdale, Tameside, Halton, Oldham, Cheshire East, Blackburn with Darwen and South Lakeland.
‘It’s disappointing that the Government’s intent in bringing in this legislation is being undermined by the failure of many councils to undertake the required office work.”
Anger Over Lack of Council Support for Disabled People
Having conducted Freedom of Information research with all English, Welsh and Scottish councils, Doug Paulley, a disability activist, said he was disappointed that the Government’s desire to introduce the new law was not being honoured by the council.
He said: ‘It’s disappointing that the Government’s intent in bringing in this legislation is being undermined by the failure of many councils to undertake the required office work. Some taxi drivers can continue to discriminate against wheelchair users with impunity.”
He also said the research suggested many councils didn’t consider creating such lists ‘until prompted’ and urged disabled people and their allies to raise the issue with their councils.
Calls on Bury Council and Other Local Authorities to Act
Paulley and Muscular Dystrophy UK, a charity that campaigns for disability rights, have urged the government to call on councils to set a deadline for creating the Section 17 lists so that local authorities are more accountable.
Muscular Dystrophy UK, which has campaigned for the new law for years, stated that taxis are often a necessity for disabled people when public transport is not an option.The charity’s director of campaigns, care and information, Nic Bungay, said taxis are ‘not a luxury for disabled people’ and ‘are often the only way to get from A to B when public transport isn’t accessible’.
The research by Paulley “comprehensively demonstrates how many councils are failing to ensure that disabled passengers are not penalised”, Bungay added.
Following the government’s latest recommendations, he urged the lists to be created now, saying the Department for Transport should promote the lists as a matter of urgency.
Bury Council declined to comment.