Aberdeen taxi drivers to require medical evidence if they are unfit to help wheelchair passengers

Aberdeen taxi drivers will have to provide professional medical evidence in order to get an exemption from helping wheelchair passengers.

The council requires new applicants seeking a taxi licence to be able to operate accessible vehicles. This means that drivers must help wheelchair users when they are entering and exiting their cabs.

Not all cabbies will be fit enough to lift and assist disabled passengers, so they can apply for an exemption from giving help to wheelchair users. The local authority has seen a sharp rise in drivers seeking a pass for health reasons.

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Exemption certificates were previously granted if it was found that cabbies had any conditions making it “impossible or unreasonably difficult” for them to lend a hand.

Licensing solicitor Sandy Munro noted that the number of these applications had increased in the last year when they used to be “few and far between”.

In particular, there has been an increase in the amount of saloon drivers applying for exemptions. In response, the local authority decided to take firmer action to prevent the trend from continuing.

Anyone seeking a pass from now on will be asked to provide the opinion of a medical professional that the type of vehicle is “causing or exacerbating their condition”.

The new guidance will act as a baseline for future applications, ensuring there is consistency when dealing with these types of requests. This would also ensure that an exemption would only be granted if there was a genuine need for it.

A special meeting was held recently to discuss exactly what medical proof would be acceptable. Mr Munro suggested that a GP stating their professional opinion would be enough but welcomed any other thoughts.

Councillor Kairin van Sweeden asked if the views of physiotherapists could be included. This suggestion was backed by councillor Ken McLeod, who argued physios had “more expertise” in determining certain injuries.

The Hazlehead, Queen’s Cross and Countesswells member welcomed the action after initially raising the issue last year.

He also believed the exemptions would stop once word gets around the council was “clamping down on facetious injuries.” He bluntly stated that drivers “should be looking for another job” if they have injuries.

Mr McLeod referred to the case of one particular driver who had asked for an exclusion a few months ago.

“We had a chap who said ‘I can’t do that’,” he recalled.

“I asked how he would lift a suitcase out of a car and he said, ‘I’ll ask someone next to me or a member of the public to help me’. Sorry, that’s no use at all.

“Part of a taxi driver’s job, as well as pushing wheelchairs, is to put luggage into cars.”