Anger over refusal of ‘too short’ taxi ride
Wellington’s Breannah Moore is upset her friend was refused a taxi ride at 2.30am because the trip was too short.
The 23-year-old Miramar resident said Loralie Blyth, also 23, was refused two separate rides by Capital Taxis earlier this month, with one driver saying the distance was too short.
Moore made a formal complaint to the company, which said management had spoken with both of the taxi drivers and apologised.
It is ‘‘totally unacceptable’’ and illegal for taxi drivers to refuse a fare because the distance was too short, said John Hart, executive director of the New Zealand Taxi Federation.
Moore wants the company to write an apology email to her friend and ensure that taxis don’t refuse rides because of the distance involved.
When she and her friend approached the taxi stand on Courtenay Place on Sunday, she was dismayed that the driver would not take Blyth the roughly 1.5km to Boulcott St. Blyth was not intoxicated.
They were told by the Capital Taxis driver that the distance was too short, Moore said. A second driver also refused them before a third taxi from another firm took Blyth home.
Moore made her complaint the next day. ‘‘It was embarrassing, it was appalling,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s not just women, it’s people who don’t feel safe walking through [the streets] by themselves, they should feel that the taxi driver can take them there.
‘‘Because it’s at night and she’s got to walk where there are not a lot of people, the street that she is going, I just don’t feel comfortable. Just the thought about it makes me uncomfortable to think what could happen.’’
A Capital Taxis representative said it had investigated the incident and asked both drivers to explain. The first taxi driver thought the woman was intoxicated and was shocked to know she had made a mistake.
Moore’s complaint has been kept on the drivers’ files.
Capital Taxis director Tim Lau said they did not condone drivers refusing fares because the distance was too short, as it was illegal and all drivers would know that.
Hart said: ‘‘They are required by law to accept all jobs, however long or short. It is morally and legally indefensible’’.