An unpleasant episode took place at the Pescara railway station, where a blind woman saw herself refusing a taxi race because it was accompanied by her guide dog. The passenger, of Portuguese origin and resident in Emilia-Romagna, had just arrived by train from Bologna and had to reach Montesilvano, but the taxi driver opposed a dry refusal: “No dogs on my taxi“.
The woman, who remained without alternatives, turned to the railway police officers, present at the station. Despite the mediation attempt, the driver has maintained his refusal. Polfer thus proceeded to accompany the passenger with another vehicle and reported the case to the municipal police, the only organ authorized to officially sanction the violation.
Codacons asks for the withdrawal of the license
The story aroused strong indignation and attracted the attention of the Codacons, which requested the immediate withdrawal of the license to the taxi driver involved. The consumer association defined the gesture as a very serious discrimination and recalled that law 37/1974, updated by law 60/2006, obliges all public transport, including taxis, to accept blind people accompanied by their guide dogs without additional costs.
What does the law provides for the driver
The refusal of access is a violation of the rules on accessibility and can involve a sanction from 500 to 2,500 euros. In some cases, as already happened in other Italian cities, you can also get to the suspension of the license. Codacons has also threatened a legal action against the Municipality of Pescara for omission of office acts, if the provisions planned were not adopted.
A non -isolated case: a turning point is needed
Unfortunately it is not a rare case. Similar episodes have also occurred in other cities, making it clear how accessibility in Italy is still too fragile and entrusted to the common sense of the individual citizen. Until the rights of people with disabilities are considered as a favor and not as a mandatory rule, we will continue to tell stories of exclusion instead of civilization. We need a decisive, not only legal, but cultural response.
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