Taxis

[Gillette]

I use a Salsa Mini 2 powered wheelchair.

We had arranged to go out this evening and I booked wheelchair-accessible taxis to take us and bring us back. The taxi to take us there was 15 minutes late. When the driver saw that I was in a powered chair he said he could only take me at my own risk. As time was getting short, I agreed. However, when I was trying to drive the chair into the taxi (a Peugeot Expert) he claimed it wouldn't go in. There wasn't time for me to transfer to the manual chair so we had to cancel our evening out.

The driver told me I should have mentioned to Despatch that I was using a powered chair. Being new to this game I didn't realise that wheelchair-accessible taxi actually meant "this taxi is only accessible if you use a manual chair that feels as though it is about to collapse and is as uncomfortable as h**l".

I am so fed up. I can cope with being in a wheelchair. I can cope with not being able to drive. But I can't cope with taxi firms that turn up late with a vehicle that is not up to the job.

I have been feeling lousy for the past five days and was so looking forward to going out and seeing friends and acquaintances. I have been so careful over the weekend to avoid overdoing things, to give myself the best chance of being able to go this evening - but it's all been for nothing.

[Lynne K]

Oh dear. Sorry about the taxi trouble Dina. They ought to have asked you what type of wheelchair you were in. I wouldn't use that useless firm again. I hope that you can meet up with friends soon and find a more trustworthy clued in taxi firm. Lynne x

[Deb]

So sorry Dina that you missed your precious evening out.

It's so hard to rely on other people to do what they say they will and it makes us feel very vulnerable when they dont !

Like you I try to do my "homework " when we go out and its frustrating that it is the little things that can stop us doing what we want. ( like a taxi firm's communication )
I seem to have a bank of energy too so I need to recharge my batteries if I have had a busy day. On a positive note sometimes I can have a rubbish couple of days when I feel really weak and then I can rally.. I dont know if this is typical but my neurologist seemed to think it was and suggested I conserve energy for what I want to do..... easier said than done I know when you have alot of friends and family you are looking forward to seeing !

I hope tomorrow is a better day for you.... still loving your username now I know why !

Love Debbie x

[Kayleigh]

Hi Dina,

I'm so sorry to hear that Dina. Like you, I would have presumed that 'wheelchair accessible vehicle' meant exactly that. I didn't know that some are only suitable for manual wheelchairs. I think that taxi companies should be more proactive in asking us what type of wheelchair or powerchair we have, so that they can send out the most appropriate vehicle -I'm sure it wouldn't take much effort for them to do that!

Someone on the forum might be able to recommend a good taxi company (with WAVs) local to where you live, but perhaps this company might be a good one (I just did a quick Google search, and so it's probably not the only one that might be suitable):-

http://http://www.colinreatransport.co.uk/index.php

Hopefully you can meet up with your friends very soon!

Hugs,

Kayleigh x

[Terry]

Hi Dina;

I have got in several of those taxis in my power chair but my one can shrink a little. Most of the ramps have been poor and dangerous and I have never been secured properly.

It is so disappointing to make so much effort to fail at the first hurdle. I believe that some companies have vehicles that are bigger.

Love Terry

[Gillette]

Hi Kayleigh,

Thank you for the link. It was one of the companies I considered for the return journey.

[Gillette]

Hi Lynne,

I have used this company before because another one I had tried turned up an hour and a quarter late! I had a dental appointment in Ainsworth Road, just half a mile from home, which I missed because of that fiasco. They kept telling me it was "on its way" but then I spoke to someone else who told me my taxi was on the way to a job at Fairfield Hospital (!) and would then come to me.

One thing that really annoys me is that I book the taxis to arrive early, to give time for problems to be sorted. Grrrrr.

[Lynne K]

Oh dear, taxi trouble is bad. Try Dial-a-Ride during the day instead Dina.

I used to go down Ainsworth Rd to 2 of my pupils when I was a driving instructor. I was then living off Walmersley Rd BL9. We're now in Radcliffe, off Outwood Rd M26. You must live not far from where we used to live.

We're packing up (at the holiday cottage that we've had at Easter 2 years on the trot) to go home tomorrow. Lynne x

[Kayleigh]

Hi Lynne,

I hope you and your husband enjoyed your holiday.

Hopefully the cottage had all the facilities you needed to make your stay there very comfortable.

Have a safe journey home.

Love
Kayleigh x

[Gillette]

Hi Lynne,

We live very near the cemetery and crematorium, off Ainsworth Road. As I often say to people, the one good thing about where we live is that we can get a discount off our funeral because we're so close to the cemetery!

[Kayleigh]

Hi Dina - I love your sense of humour, you do make me smile!

Glad to see you havn't let this evening's taxi blip get you down for too long - that's the spirit!!

That rude taxi driver's monetary loss was your monetary gain!

Kayleigh logic (lol) says save what you didn't spend this evening, so that you can have double to spend on your next evening out! - you deserve a great time out with your friends and so I hope you can meet up with them very soon.

Kayleigh x

P.S If you use the taxi company that I posted about, hopefully everything should go smoothly ... it says on their website 'Get rid of all your transport problems in one go. Give Colin a ring ..."
Hopefully Colin has trained his taxi drivers to be on time, driving the correct WAV and to be polite to their passengers. There must be a good taxi service out there somewhere, surely! - and perhaps Colin's is the one?!!