Glasgow taxi driver suspended after ignoring wheelchair user who was next in line at rank
A taxi driver in Glasgow as been suspended after he allegedly ignored a a wheelchair user who was next on the rank.
The woman was left angry and upset after the taxi driver didn't even acknowledge her calls to be picked up and instead pulled away with a different passenger.
Glasgow licensing chiefs announced the six weeks suspension of hackney carriage driver Dalbir Singh following complaints from horrified onlookers, who slammed his actions as being “completely unacceptable”. Witnesses said the lady was left by the side of the road "getting irate" after Mr Singh drove off to avoid taking her. The disabled lady had been at the front of the taxi queue when the driver allegedly ignored her calls to him. Glasgow City Council heard how Mr Singh then crawled out of the rank and put his hazard lights on.
He then got out of the car to open the door for another lady, who was said to be "hesitant", as she sensed something was wrong.
As reported by the Evening Times , one complaint to the Council said: “For a person to treat a vulnerable person in this way is completely unacceptable.” Licensing convener Alex Wilson said: “This, if true, makes for shocking reading, that you would leave a disabled passenger on the rank.” Another witness added: “All in all, it was not a good image to present to the public.” The next driver on the rank picked up the woman. Mr Singh insisted he had planned to take her but the licensing committee ruled in favour of suspending his licence with immediate effect. He said he moved forward to make room for the ramp and signalled for the woman to move to a dropped section of the kerb.
“When I came out, another passenger jumped in my car,” he said. “I seen the other driver coming to pick up the wheelchair lady. “The wheelchair lady didn’t come to me.”
However, Mr Wilson said: “You could have got out and said you needed to move forward.”
Councillor Gary Gray added: “One of my parents was in a wheelchair and the same thing happened. “I do not forget the upset my parent felt because of an ignorant taxi driver.”
Image: Source; Pixabay
