Posted on the 1st August 2025 in PHTM News
ESSEX TAXI DRIVER WHO REFUSED TO CARRY BLIND PERSON AND THEIR GUIDE DOG TO PAY OVER £1,000
An Essex taxi driver has been ordered to pay over £1,000 in fines and costs after refusing a ride to a blind person and their guide dog.
Ovidiu Budulan pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on July 24 to breaching the Equality Act 2010.
The incident took place last August at a taxi rank in Witham. A registered blind passenger, along with their guide dog, was denied entry into Budulan's hackney carriage. Another driver at the rank then took the passenger to their destination.
Budulan was fined £325, with an additional £130 surcharge and £600 in costs to Braintree District Council, which brought the prosecution.
Councillor Mary Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, said the case "sends a clear message that discrimination against passengers with a disability will not be tolerated." She added that "refusing service in this way is both unlawful and unfair" and that guide dogs "are essential companions."
The Guide Dogs charity notes that the only valid reason for a driver to refuse a service animal is a medical exemption certificate. In such cases, the driver or their company must help the passenger find another ride.
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