Blind man ‘feels like scum’ after being illegally refused taxis due to guide dog

A visually impaired man who uses private hire vehicles to get to and from work successfully prosecuted a taxi driver who refused the trip due to ‘having a dog’.

Stephen Anderson, 33, who works as a public servant, told Metro he has had 82 refusals by taxi drivers for having his guide dog with him.

It is a criminal offence for private hire drivers to refuse access to a guide dog and its owner under section 170 of the Equality Act.

Anderson, from Harrow, has begun filming the incidents and sending them to TfL, who say it acts against minicab drivers that refuse to take guide dogs.

The most recent incident filmed by Anderson has gone viral on X, with over 3 million views and thousands of comments.

Stephen told Metro that the incident made him feel ‘very sad’, and reminded him of the ‘negative consequences’ of his disability.

‘To be treated differently like this in public because of how I was born, makes me feel like a piece of scum’, he shared.

‘I am aware, however, that I have a social responsibility for disabled people who cannot stand up for themselves, to take forward this fight on their behalf.

‘And this victory is not for me, because I don’t really get anything.

‘There’s no real financial gain here. This victory is for them, and hopefully sends a message loud and clear to them that they will be supported and to drivers that these are the rules and that they will be followed up on.’

Stephen has had his guide dog, Ava, for 14 months, and says that she gives him a ‘whole extra level’ of independence compared to when he used to use a stick.

‘I’m able to go out during the day and then go out at night as well and not be exhausted’, he told Metro.co.uk.

‘She enables me to make informed decisions when it comes to road crossings and that sort of thing, without overly straining by eyesight and in my job as a public servant I have to be on the ball, and can’t arrive at work exhausted.

‘With a cane, that gives you information and you have to interpret it, whereas with a guide dog, they are doing the interpreting for you.’

Stephen has been very vocal about his encounters online, however shared that he sometimes questions whether he is doing the right thing by talking about it publicly.

‘I really hope I don’t discourage disabled people from coming forward for assistance dogs,’ he continued.

‘However, when you go in that into that room, and you when you go into that process, you need to do so with your eyes open. You need to do so knowing what you’re going to be up against.

‘There is no point me trying to sell you a bag of grapes that turn out to be moldy, I have to be honest, and I’m really sorry if it puts people off.

‘These things are done to me. These things are done to us. And again, it’s the social model of disability that says, my disability doesn’t impair my ability to access the world, you do’.

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