Visually impaired Kalgoorlie-Boulder woman scared to book taxis at night after repeatedly being left waiting

A visually impaired woman says she has been repeatedly left waiting for taxis in Kalgoorlie-Boulder due to some drivers not wanting to let her service dog into their cabs. Debbie Van Luxemborg — who is in her 70s and legally blind — told the Kalgoorlie Miner she and her guide dog Olga had been left waiting for “pet-friendly” taxis multiple times. She said a recent interaction with local taxi company Twin City Cabs had left her too frightened to book taxis at night out of fear she may be left stranded in the dark. Responding to the claims, Twin City Cabs owner Sam Hussain apologised that Ms Van Luxemborg had been left waiting but denied any drivers had refused service. Ms Van Luxemborg said she booked Twin City Cabs in September to take her to a meeting at Kalgoorlie Health Campus at 3pm and back home at 6.40pm. When she was told the driver was still finishing another job after 20 minutes, Ms Van Luxemborg cancelled both rides, concerned if the driver was late to take her home she would be left in a vulnerable position waiting in the near-dark. Ms Van Luxemborg said in her view the incident was “down and out discrimination”. She said the delay was due to there being a limited number of “pet-friendly” drivers willing to take her guide dog, having experienced difficulties with taxi drivers in the past. “I don’t appreciate being left to stand around and wait, not when I booked a taxi, that is why I was so angry because I knew if I had to wait that long to get a taxi to pick me up in an afternoon, it’s going to be even more dangerous at night,” she said. “It is extremely scary when you can hear sounds and you’re not 100 per cent sure what they are. “You’ve got to be aware that this town is not safe once it gets dark, I was born here so I’m not I’m not naive.” Mr Hussain said while he was aware of some drivers who did not like to allow guide dogs into their cabs, Twin City Cabs had internal penalties in place for those who refused service without grounds. He said during busy periods it was possible for taxis booked in advance to be delayed — but not usually more than 15 minutes. “We’ve got fines in place, if the drivers do something like this, if they do refuse a guide dog,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of drivers, they are scared of the dog, they say they are allergic to the dog but . . . when they tell me, I ask them for a medical certificate from the doctor . . . if they haven’t got a medical certificate they cannot refuse. Mr Hussain said Twin City Cabs operated under legislation from the Department of Transport barring them from refusing service to people with assistance animals.