A recent news story stating that a Middlesbrough taxi firm was refusing to take disabled passengers created a social media reaction culminating in over 14,000 signatures placed on a petition. For the orginal BBC news story see here.
The petition called on people to boycott the taxi firm in question and rssulted in a quick u turn. The u turn story can be found here.
The facts were as follows:
1) Boro Taxies announced that it was “uneconomic” to carry disabled passengers and were not prepared to take them on board.
2) Public outcry on social media leads to regional and national coverage on television, radio and other social networks.
3) 14,000 people sign a signature to boycott Boro Taxies as a result of their decision.
4) Boro Taxies announce that they are back tracking on their decision, claiming that they will “subsidise” drivers who transport disabled passengers – but they also say that they will seek payment from Middlesbrough Borough Council to cover this cost.
At the time of writing, we have no information about the response of Middlesbrough Borough Council to this latest twist in the story which continues to keep in the headlines.
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