Sir, – I use a wheelchair and live in Galway city. I regularly use wheelchair-accessible taxis to assist me in living as independent a life as possible. I frequently experience frustration when calling for one as I am told that there are none available. The irony of an accessible vehicle that cannot be accessed!
Sometimes I can be fortunate to get a wheelchair-accessible taxi, but more often than not, I need to call a few companies before one becomes available. It is particularly very difficult to get one on a Sunday. It is as if the drivers clock off at the same time, and if there is a match on, forget it.
On May 27th, a Sunday, I travelled by taxi to meet friends, and had a lovely time with them. However, when it came to time to go home that afternoon, I rang four Galway city taxi companies to book my return journey, only to be told that there was none available! This is such a disgrace. Fortunately my friends observed for themselves how much trouble I was having and agreed to push me to the nearest bus stop so that I was able to get home and was not left stranded. I was very thankful that there was a bus stop within a relatively short distance. I felt like my independence was undermined.
The unavailability of wheelchair-accessible taxis is very unfair. Those of us with disabilities have a right to go out like everyone else; we are citizens and as such we should be treated the same, and our rights should not be denied.
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There is currently a generous grant scheme of up to €7,500 available for the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. So why is it so difficult to get a wheelchair-accessible taxi ? I am aware that subsidised wheelchair-accessible taxis are regularly used for other purposes than for which they were primarily designed. I believe that if anyone applies for a licence to carry wheelchair users and then refuses wheelchair work, that licence should be revoked, in the interests of equality, justice and fairness. Who is monitoring this issue?
I believe that some wheelchair taxis do HSE work and airport runs. I am not saying that that doesn’t need to be done, because I am sure it does, but those of us with disabilities are not always attached to hospitals or the airport. Transport for those with disabilities is a necessity rather than a luxury as there are important deadlines and appointments to meet and attend to. That is my personal experience but I am not writing just for me. I am writing for those who are in a similar situation, the younger generation, and for those with disabilities visiting our beautiful city and for those who may not be vocal or confident enough to speak up for themselves. – Yours, etc,
EILEEN GORMLEY,
Galway.