Taxi association responds to wheelchair incident

The Gibraltar Taxi Association said yesterday it had suspended two drivers and apologised to a family following an incident last Sunday, which saw a wheelchair user left waiting for transport for over 90 minutes.

The treasurer of the Association, Christian Agius, said the driver involved in the incident, which was posted on social media, is a private hire vehicle and is despatched to jobs from the control centre only. He was never sent to the job in question.

However, the driver who was despatched was stuck up in the Upper Town after taking a different job instead of dealing with the elderly woman’s fare.

The Association said it acted quickly on the complaint and met with the family in question, who accepted the apology and that of the driver.

Both drivers however will be suspended temporarily as from Monday while the GTA looks further into the case. At present, it is unknown how long the suspension will be for.

The two drivers were driving the only two disability-friendly vehicles the Association has.

Their suspension will not affect users as other drivers will drive these wheelchair friendly vehicles.

Mr Agius urged any customer who encounters a problem to call the Association and speak to the manager or contact the Traffic Commission instead of posting it on social media, especially if a person does not have all of the facts.