Taxis and SDs

[responsiblek9]

 
My client called me with one of the stragest stories regarding taxi problems.. She had Alo on the second set of 5 days  aclimating the dog to her routine. Well she needed to go to the grocery store so called the taxi company and told them she HAD A SERVICE DOG.... They send a taxi. The taxi driver stops, sees the service dog fully tacked out with a bright neon yellow vest and leather working harness with the handler waiting for his taxi then yells out his window No dog No dog and peels out and raced through the red light to get away.... he was really moving evidently!
She called the taxi company dispatch and reported it. Dispatch was horrified this happened!  They had said on the dispatch for that first taxi that the client HAD a service dog. .. They sent another taxi who came and got them without issues. Now the taxis are happy to come get her and the SD because this dog has been trained to stay on the floor only and never get on the seat. Evidently there had been problems with people letting their service dogs ride on the seats! Eeks.. So now when my client calls she informs the taxi dispatch this dog is trained to ONLY  sit on the floor. Evidently they have been giving that message out as they also tell the available taxi drivers that this fare involves a service dog.
The client has told me she gets taxis now faster and more reliably than before when she was just the crippled lady with a walker.. 

[Kirsten]

Too funny.  I wonder if they'd be disappointed if someone claimed a service dog they didn't have to get faster service.

[Gretl2009]

It warms my heart to hear that.  A lady in my class during Team Training does not own a car - they are retired and walk or use public transportation - so her and her husband rented a car for the 3 week team training to get to class every day - the car rental agency charged them an incredible fee for "cleaning" out the car after their three weeks.  They are fighting it - the company refuses to acknowledge the law about rental cars, taxis, etc., and have marked their account with a notation that they have a "pet dog that they refuse to leave behind" and they are to be charged a $250 cleaning fee.  They are filing a DOJ complaint.  So, I am happy to hear a company actually obeying, and even encouraging the law. 

~Chris and Gretl

[bj2circeleb]

Now the taxis are happy to come get her and the SD because this dog has been trained to stay on the floor only and never get on the seat. Evidently there had been problems with people letting their service dogs ride on the seats!

This is an issue which we have here too. All the guide dogs have always been trained to only sit on the floor and the hearing dog program followed suit. The first service dog programs were for people in wheelchairs who were requiring wheelchair accessible cabs and their dogs also only went on the floor. When the owner trainers came in, they had the dogs on the seats and the dogs had also rarely been brushed recently, etc, and this has caused huge problems. The drivers heave a sigh of relief when Brooke goes on the floor like the guide dogs do. The drivers here do face regular unannounced spot checks to ensure that their cabs are clean and they can loose other rides, because they have had to go and clean out the car, etc.

On a side note to help with cabs driving off, all of our cabs have recently had raised lettering and braille just above the door handles of all passenger side doors, so that blind people with guide dogs can more redily complain about cab drivers and make complaints, etc. Sure the companies send up another cab, but they won't fine the driver, revoke his licence, etc, which is what happens when compalinst are made to the taxi driver licensing board.

I would assume that people are responsible for ensuring that cars are returned in the same state as which they are hired out. If they have returned a car with dog hair all over it, I would assume that they could be charged for the cleaning of that. If the car was returned without, as they cleaned it out themselves first, that would be different, but I would not see anything wrong with someone being charged for cleaning up the dogs mess, SD for not.

[cowlypso]

Sure, it would be a common courtesy to clean the dog hair out of a rental car when you are done using it.  But as the law is written in the U.S., they are generally not allowed to charge a cleaning fee.  If it's just a standard fee that they would charge for all pets, the fee does not apply to SDs. 

I had a rental car over the summer.  They asked that I put down a blanket for Bear to lay on, but required nothing else as he was a SD.  When I went to return the car, the guy then used it to drive me back to the auto shop to pick up my own car.  I went to clear up some of the loose hairs after I unloaded Bear, and the guy said not to worry about it, since they do such a thorough cleaning of all their cars anyway. 

[bj2circeleb]

But the law does require service dog users to pay for damage caused by the dog, and to me this does not just mean if something is broken, but also if something is made dirty because the dog is using it. If they charge a flat fee for all pets then no they cannot charge it just because you have a service dog, but if the car requires extra cleaning because of the dog being there, then I would see that they would be able to charge for that, even if it is a service dog. If it is only going to require the same level of cleaning as they give to all cars, they cannot charge more, but if the car did require more than that amount then in my opinion they would be able to charge for it, as it was caused by the dog, and/or your use of the dog. They couldn't ask you to pay for it upfront as they may be able to do with a pet dog, but if the car was returned and did require more than a standard clean, and this did mean it was the same as done for pet dogs then in my opinion they could charge for it then yes.

[Sheenar]

Is there more room on the floor of some vehicles? I know that Pebbles, while in her mobility harness, has a heck of a time sitting on the floor of a standard car --even with the seat pushed all the way forward.

When she rides in my car, she sits in the seat in her crash/safety-tested seat belt. I always try to keep her brushed --I brush at least once a day (curry comb and a ZoomGroom), but still have trouble sometimes keeping on top of the shedding due to physical limitations (I have fur on the floor of my house --it is very difficult for me to sweep and getting someone to come help is like pulling teeth) --I have trouble vacuuming out  my car, too.
 
I've never taken a taxi, but when my friends give me a ride somewhere, I try to make sure Pebbles is brushed before she goes into their car.

[Keldrena]

Sheener, I was just thinking about that.  Some of the taxis around here, I can barely fit my legs in and I'm not very tall, only 5 feet 7 inches.

Hmm, what is the etiquette for that situation? Should I just call a new taxi or ask if Figaro can use the seat? I feel awkward having him do that in someone else's car although it is safer for him.

[Kirsten]

If the dog must ride on the seat, carry a small blanket with you to cover the seat and protect it from dog hair.

[Cera]

I carry a blanket I specially made for taxi trips.  It is the size of the seat and will roll up, velcro and has a strap I can throw over my shoulder.  The taxi drivers love it.  I actually had one tell me once that it is better than putting the dog on the floor (according to them) because when people do that, the hair ends up stuck to the back of the front seats and the particular fabric is very difficult to get the hair out of.  I also buckle my dog in.

What I have found is that taxi drivers are mainly worried about safety and cleanlieness.  My driver today told me that one dog went up to the front of the vehicle and got into his lunch box and licked the cap of his water bottle.  Others have discussed dogs climbing onto their laps in the front while on the freeway.  One of my drivers, who likes dogs, can't stand the one whos owner rolls the window down and then the dog barks at everything the whole trip, sitting right behiend her ear.  Some drivers really do not want a dog licking them, which I also believe is reasonable (mine is trained to not even look at them).  I have many, many drivers wh tell me that they will take me any day because I am respectful and my dog is not a problem.  They all have horror stories of 'service dogs' which I feel is very unfortunate. 

I had to fight the battle of training and getting these drivers to accept service dogs, and I am glad they are complying.  But I also understand their frusteration.  Just an assurance that the dog is trained (like when they sit on the floor) and the behavior of the dog is what gets the drivers jumping to respond to the call as soon as it comes out.  The drivers around here recognise my name and address now, and respond redily (now that the taxi companies have learned that they cannot funnel PWDwSDs to a seperate list of drivers who are willing to accept pets).

As for size, most taxi drivers around here push back both their seat and the passanger seat leaving very cramped quarters for anyone getting rides.  I don't understand why they do it, but they apparently don't cater for comfort.  Between that and safety (using seatbelt) that is why I use a blanket and seat belt.

[Sheenar]

I'll keep a blanket in mind if I ever take a taxi. Public transit is pretty nonexistent in my area of Texas. Good thing I have my own car...

[Keldrena]

Thank you all for the tips. I can't believe I hadn't thought about this before now.

[bj2circeleb]

Guide dogs are taught to sit in between their handlers legs on the floor of the front passanger side, which is where Brooke sits. She like most dogs she struggles to sit on the floor of the back seats even if the seats are pushed all the way forward. She has done this before, mainly because being on the floor is so normal to her, that she is not comfortable being on seats. I have heard the same thing from hundreds of guide dog users. Our hearing dog programs also teach their dogs to sit in the same place. The feeling here is that dogs do not belong on furniture or seats or anything else in public places. They do not get on the seats of public transport, in restaraunts or the like. Hence it is felt that it is also wrong to allow them to be on seats in taxi's. This is Australia and things are different here, but I do know that guide dog programs throughout the world all teach their dogs to sit on the floor of the front passanger side, between the handlers legs.

The most important thing above all else is that your dog is well behaved and shows how service dogs should be behaving. If you are going to have the dog on the seat carrying a blanket or something else to put down would always be polite. There will be people getting in the car after you and your dog and while it may be normal for us to be covered in dog hair it is not normal for a significant number of the population. And many people could become very distressed if for instance they have caught a cab to a job interview only to get out covered in dog hair!!!

[Cera]

In a taxi in the states it is not considered appropriate to sit in the front seats.  Those are taken up by the drivers junk, but never, ever a person (except possibly if they are taking 4 people to the airport or something.  Then if the extra person fee is high enough, they might move their junk.

[Kirsten]

We ride in front in my city.  But we only have two taxi services.  One has regular taxis but only one set of good tires, which they rotate on to any car going for vehicle inspection.  I know this because a friend of mine drives for them.  I take the other one, which tends to use elderly mini-vans.  Cole fits nicely on the floor in back. 

We also have an excellent public transit system with paratransit, which is probably why our taxi service is substandard.