
Two Uber drivers from Bradford have been stripped of their licences and ordered to pay hundreds of pounds in fines and costs after being convicted of refusing to carry a passenger accompanied by a guide dog.
Both drivers appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court on October 31, where the court was shown mobile phone footage of each driver refusing to allow a disabled woman and her assistance dog into their vehicle before cancelling the journey and driving off.
The prosecutions were brought by Bradford Council.
Mohammed Zubair, 47, of Bradford, pleaded guilty to refusing a booking for a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog. The incident occurred on June 14 when he was called to pick up the passenger from Smithy Carr Lane in Brighouse and take her to the hospital.
Footage filmed by the woman shown to the court showed the passenger informing the reluctant driver that he was legally required to accept the assistance dog.
After he stated he had cancelled the journey, the woman told him that was against the law and that she would report him.
Waseem Raja, prosecuting for Bradford Council, told the court: “The footage shows the complainant constantly explains he can’t refuse to transport them. He kept remonstrating and kept saying she needed to book an Uber Pet. He simply drove away.”
The court heard Zubair, who had been a taxi driver for seven years, was "deeply remorseful" but had already lost his licence and was now jobless.
He was fined £90 and ordered to pay £500 in costs and a £36 surcharge.
In the second case, Muhammad Faisal, 34, of Bradford, pleaded guilty to a similar charge stemming from an incident on June 13, also on Smithy Carr Lane in Brighouse.
Faisal was shown in footage telling the passenger that she would need to book an Uber Pet to transport her dog. When told refusing her was illegal, he reiterated: “You need to book an Uber Pet.”
Mr Raja noted: “He left the woman standing in the road. He refused to transport her and said he would cancel the job despite being told he could not do that.”
Faisal's representative, Mr Khan, admitted the driver had forgotten his training and called it a “genuine mistake.” He suggested there might be “something going on” with information provided by Uber, as it was the second such case that day.
Mr Khan told magistrates that Faisal had lost his licence and would soon be applying for Universal Credit.
“He was hoping it would be a life-long career, but it ended quite soon after this incident,” Mr Khan said.
Faisal was fined £80 and ordered to pay £500 costs and a £32 surcharge. He cannot apply for another licence for seven years.
These cases are the latest in a series of prosecutions by Bradford Council. Following a previous hearing, an Uber spokesman commented on the company's policy: “It is totally unacceptable, and illegal, for drivers to refuse to take a rider due to an assistance dog and we investigate every report.
“We remind drivers of this obligation before they start using the Uber app and send regular reminders.
"Uber can and does permanently remove drivers’ ability to use the app when a driver has violated their legal obligations.”

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