According to the Human Rights Act, assistance dogs with disabilities have the right to travel on all forms of public transport, including taxis.
Photo: 123rf

An advocacy group for the blind says guide dog handlers are often discriminated against by taxi drivers and ride-hailing companies.

Blind Low Vision New Zealand community and inclusion general manager Dan Shepherd said they had heard widespread reports of people with assistance dogs being refused taxis or being ignored altogether when waiting for a ride.

According to the Human Rights Act, assistance dogs with disabilities have the right to travel on all forms of public transport, including taxis.

Shepherd said Nine to noon Service dog users now expect to be challenged when using taxis and rideshare companies.

“As a guide dog handler, you come to expect an interaction or your access to be questioned when it comes to rideshares and taxis, as opposed to getting free and available access to participate in your community” , he said.

Dan Shepherd and his guide dog Ezra
Photo: credit to Blind Low Vision NZ.

There have been instances where Shepherd and his dog Ezra had waited outside a restaurant for an Uber, only for the driver to cancel or drive past him, he said.

“In these situations you have two options: you can try to book another Uber or call a taxi company, or you can contact your whānau and ask them for a ride home.

“It takes away your independence at that point and requires action from your support network.”

On another occasion, he and Ezra waited at a taxi rank outside Auckland’s Sylvia Park Mall for almost half an hour while four taxis from the same company left without passengers.

“Ezra and I do a lot of traveling as part of my role … and I can say that’s not isolated to one part of New Zealand, it’s all over the country,” Shepherd said.

While there have been cases where guide dog users have been ignored by drivers, there have also been occasions where drivers have refused to provide a service.

This showed taxi and ride-hailing companies had a “lack of awareness” of the rights of service animals for people with disabilities, he said.

“Those interactions would start and I’m empowered enough to stop and have a conversation with people.

“I talk about Ezra’s rights to access a taxi and that is followed by a plethora of excuses to try and make sure my dog ​​can’t access the car.”

Reasons given included claims the company didn’t allow dogs, the driver was allergic or their car was “too old or too small” for the dogs, he said.

“The guide dog community is a small one, but it has realized how big the problem is.”

Shepherd said decreased access to taxis and carpools was a barrier to employment for guide dog users, leading to employees calling in sick or having discussions with managers about their performance.

Warren Quirke, chief executive of the Small Passenger Service Association, said Nine to noon drivers should know the laws.

However, he acknowledged that some potentially were not.

“Getting into the industry now is very easy. There is a reliance on self-compliance, there is a reliance on the driver who is expected to know the rules.

“They really should know, at least.”

Identifying the drivers who were the subject of complaints was difficult, Quirke said.

“If it was one of our member companies, I would report it,” he said.

“But really that’s up to NZTA, that’s in their domain.”

Quirke said NZTA compliance officers were required to monitor taxi ranks.

An Uber spokesperson said riders with assistance animals have the same rights as any rider with access to their service.

“The hardship of being denied service due to a service animal is not something we take lightly, and we are committed to continually trying to improve the service animal rider experience on our platform,” the statement said.

“This includes liaising with stakeholders and industry experts to develop strong policies, tools and educational modules for drivers to prevent denials from occurring on the Uber platform.”

The ride-hailing company said that in response to direct feedback from service animal users, it developed an “industry-leading specialized support program” along with improved driver education about service animals .

“This initiative invites riders with an assistance animal to voluntarily sign up to access features that are designed to enhance their experience on the platform.

“This program will evolve over time in accordance with feedback from the blind and low vision community.”