Margot Giblin
Phil, a driver with United Taxis, had a call to pick up a fare from Trafalgar Square in Collins St. Hobart on Easter Tuesday.
The client was disabled. She used a walking frame and would need help getting from inside the building to the taxi.
At 5.40pm the closest taxi rank was full so Phil parked where he could and went in to assist.
Returning to his taxi Phil found an $80 parking fine.
In a phone call to the Hobart City Council he was told if he hadn’t left the taxi unattended he wouldn’t have been booked.
Phil carries the Taxi Drivers’ Manual in his boot. The section relating to Disability Awareness refers to jobs for clients with special needs including the aged and incapacitated. These fares, it says, aren’t popular with all drivers. Help should be offered and, if needed, a driver should ‘follow the client’s instructions’.
How, Phil asked, could he have picked up this fare without leaving the taxi?
The Council advised Phil to put his concerns in writing.
He will.
