LIFE IN MY NORTHERN TOWN

THE last two bank holidays were pretty glorious weather-wise, which makes a change, so I decided to take the opportunity to take my mother out for the day.

I thought it would be nice to take her to Hollingworth Lake for fish and chips – her favourite – and then for a walk.

Under normal circumstances, this would not be a problem.

However, since she is now virtually wheelchair-bound, getting here there and back is a bit of an issue.

I cannot take her in my car as I can’t get her in and out on my own so I have to rely on taxis.

So I phoned around for a wheelchair-access taxi and was shocked to find that only two of the ones I contacted offered the service.

Having booked the taxi, we loaded my mum up and set off to the lake.

The driver dropped us off and then revealed the fare. £15.

Yep, you read that right, £15.

That’s £30 for the journey there and back – I could have hired a stretch limo for that.

I later googled the journey and it was 3.2 miles, which, according to a taxi-fare calculator thingy on the internet, should have cost us £7. Say £8 tops.

So why the huge increase?

Admittedly, the driver had to load my mum up into the back but this literally took less than two minutes – not enough to justify the extra charge.

It was not only infuriating, it was against the law.

Apparently from the 6 of April last year, it is illegal for taxi drivers to discriminate against wheelchair users and they face a fine of £1,000 and the possibility of having their licences revoked.

And yet it appears to have made not a blind bit of difference.

I have had similar experiences in the past when transporting her to hospitals or whatever and remember questioning the costs then.

But they were not as shocking as this one.

I have contacted the taxi firm and the council to protest and managed to get half my money back – a big thank you to the person who helped me at the council offices.

It makes me wonder how many other readers have had similar experiences?