Posted on the 11th August 2026 in PHTM News

DISABLED LEWISHAM COUNCILLOR HAD TO PUSH HERSELF HOME IN 30C HEAT AFTER TAXI SCHEME FAILED

A disabled London councillor was left in tears and forced to push herself home in temperatures exceeding 30°C after a taxi booking scheme failed to provide suitable transport.

Lewisham councillor and Disabled People's Champion, Maria McKenna, endured a gruelling hour-long journey in her electronic wheelchair following a council meeting on July 29, after waiting nearly two hours for a vehicle that never arrived.

Cllr McKenna had used the Taxicard scheme - operated by London Councils to provide subsidised door-to-door travel for mobility-impaired residents - to book a wheelchair-accessible black cab, which was clearly noted on her profile. However, after an hour and 40 minutes of waiting in the heat, she was assigned an Addison Lee vehicle that was entirely unsuitable for her wheelchair, while attempts to secure an Uber Access vehicle also failed.

Facing poor customer service and feeling unwell, she felt she had no other choice but to wheel herself home on what should have been an 11-minute drive.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Cllr McKenna highlighted the broader impact on others, stating: "If it's happened to me, how many other thousands of people has this happened to? How many people have got even less of a voice than what I had?

"There's a lot of elderly, there's a lot of people who are a lot more vulnerable than me." She also noted that she has previously encountered long waits, journey cancellations, and poor service when trying to travel independently.

London Councils apologised for the incident, which the vehicle provider for the Taxicard scheme Comcab London, attributed to an administrative error on Cllr McKenna's account. A spokesperson said they were concerned to hear about her experience and that the issue has since been resolved with the councillor.

However, the failure has sparked wider concern from local leadership. The Mayor of Lewisham, Liam Shrivastava, called the incident deeply concerning and wrote to the chair of London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee demanding data on waiting times, cancellations, and a potential wider review of the Taxicard scheme to ensure disabled Londoners are not left without reliable transport.


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