[nagdu] Disabled get boost in quest for cabs

[Ginger Kutsch]

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/mar/31/disabled-get-boost
-in-quest-for-cabs/
 
Disabled get boost in quest for cabs
By Schuyler Kropf 
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
 
Dolly and Glenn Davis, a blind married couple who rely on their
seeing-eye dogs, got fed up with getting stood up by North
Charleston taxicabs. 
 
More than once, the Davises and their service dogs found
themselves stranded or ignored by taxi drivers who didn't want to
let the couple's dogs, Bailey and Morgan, inside their cabs, even
on cold or rainy days. 
 
Photo by Wade Spees 
Dolly and Glenn Davis with their service dogs, Morgan and Bailey,
in North Charleston.
"People were trying to take our eyes away from us," Glenn Davis
said. "And we aren't going to stand for it."
 
Neither is the city, and now North Charleston cabbies are taking
notice. 
 
In response to complaints raised by the Davises and others, city
officials last week ran an undercover sting looking for taxi
drivers who overcharged or ignored passengers with disabilities. 
 
In the biggest infraction, a driver was cited for charging extra
to allow North Charleston's undercover service dog in his
vehicle. He could face a total of $1,000 in fines. 
 
The sting was so successful that officials said they will run it
again, which is especially good news for the dog used by North
Charleston as a decoy service animal. 
 
Until last week, Cecelia, a 2-year-old German shepherd, faced
being euthanized for a bad case of heart worms. But since Cecelia
showed the temperament and skills needed to be a pretend guide
dog, she's since been given a medical reprieve by the 
 
Charleston Animal Society. 
 
"The dog showed some real valor," said Jim Bush, the society's
executive director. 
 
For the sting, police and taxi enforcement officials used various
disguises allowing them to pose as members of the handicapped
community. Along with Cecelia, who was fitted with a leather
harness, officers acted as people confined to a wheelchair or
needing a cane to navigate the streets. 
 
"We ran several operations simultaneously," said Ed Ott, North
Charleston's taxi inspector. 
 
North Charleston already has taken steps to enforce cleaner cabs
and safer drivers in the city, including by denying permits to
cabbies with serious criminal records. 
 
In most cases Friday, the cabs that stopped did pick up the
undercover agents and charged the correct amount, Ott said. The
driver who was cited allegedly charged $10 for the guide dog to
ride along, when the fare should have been no more than $6. The
driver also was ticketed for not displaying an accurate fare. 
 
Various state and federal laws protect the rights of the
handicapped to bring service dogs almost anywhere. Under the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act, privately owned
businesses that serve the public, including restaurants, hotels
and taxicabs, are prohibited from discriminating against any
individual with a disability. 
 
That means they can bring service animals into any area where
customers generally are permitted. 
 
Glenn Davis said he appreciates the goals behind the sting and
wants to see the operation continue, particularly to make new cab
drivers aware of the requirements and to keep drivers who already
are on the road honest. 
 
"Hopefully, it enforces that these cabs don't have a right to
deny us access," he said. "If there's one doing it, you know
there's others."
 
Reach Schuyler Kropf at 937-5551 or skropf at postandcourier.com.