Taxi drivers lose licences for refusing guide dog

The court was shown footage of the drivers refusing to allow a woman and her dog in their cars

Two taxi drivers have been fined and stripped of their licences for refusing to pick up a passenger with a guide dog.

The Uber drivers appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court on Friday in separate cases brought by Bradford Council.

In both cases the court was shown mobile phone footage of the drivers refusing to allow a woman and her dog into their cars before cancelling the job and driving off.

Mohammed Zubair, 47, and Muhammad Faisal, 34, both pleaded guilty to the offence and were stripped of their licences and ordered to pay more than £600 each.

Zubair had been called to pick up a passenger from Smithy Carr Lane in Brighouse on 14 June and transport her to hospital.

Footage played in court, which was filmed by the woman who booked the Uber, showed her informing the driver he had to take the assistance dog, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He then told her he had cancelled the journey, to which the woman said it was against the law and he would be reported to the council.

Waseem Raja, prosecuting the case on behalf of Bradford Council, said: "The footage shows the complainant constantly explain he can't refuse to transport them. He kept remonstrating and kept saying she needed to book an Uber Pet. He simply drove away."

Zubair, of Dickens Street, Bradford, pleaded guilty to refusing to carry out a booking for a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog and was fine £90 and ordered to pay £500 in costs and a £36 surcharge.

In the second case, a video shown to the court from 13 June showed Faisal telling the disabled passenger she would need to book an Uber Pet if she wanted her dog to be transported.

Mr Raja said: "He left the woman standing in the road. He refused to transport her and said he would cancel the job despite being told he could not do that."

Faisal, 34, of Horton Park Avenue was fined £80 and ordered to pay £500 costs and a £32 surcharge.