E7 Taxi Victory in Liverpool!
Alma Lunt, Chair of the Merseyside Coalition of Inclusive Living, is today celebrating the end of a two-year legal battle against Liverpool City Council for equal access to the city's hackney taxis.
Yesterday Liverpool's Licensing Committee decided unanimously to approve Allied Vehicle's Peugeot E7 as a hackney carriage for the first time. Like many users of larger wheelchairs on whose behalf she had campaigned, Mrs Lunt is unable to safely use Liverpool's current fleet (exclusively traditional ‘London-style' taxis) because lack of space means that she cannot be turned to put on a seatbelt. Earlier this year Mrs Lunt gave evidence to the High Court in a judicial review test case that she was forced to sit sideways and unsecured in taxis, had toppled over on occasion and was anxious whenever travelling. It followed, she argued, that Liverpool should make a reasonable adjustment to its licensing policy to license the E7 which safely accommodates most larger wheelchairs. However, Liverpool maintained that the current fleet was ‘fully accessible' for all prompting High Court judge Mr Justice Blake to rule it was discriminating unlawfully by not adjusting its policy and had made a fundamental error of fact. He went on to order yesterday afternoons reconsideration.
The test case will have significant repercussions. Norwich City Council reversed its own near-identical licensing policy on Tuesday this week and E7s will now be licensed there. The Public Carriage Office in London is undertaking its own urgent review.
Mrs Lunt said today:
'The campaign to license the E7 was about disabled people like me having a choice about which taxi we wish to use. It was remarkable that we had to take a test case all the way to the High Court to win that choice. Our situation will now be on a par with other taxi users in Liverpool who are not disabled and who take it for granted – quite rightly – that they should travel securely and safely and, when they want to, that they can travel with more than one friend, colleague or family member. None of those things have been possible for us until now. We have not been seeking special dispensations, favours or charity - just fair and equal treatment and the chance to travel in a more dignified and safe way. '
Filed under: MCIL News