‘I Don’t Take People Like You’: Taxi Driver Refuses to Lower Ramp for Disabled Passenger, but She Has Last Laugh
A woman who was refused a ride from a London taxi driver after he found out she was wheelchair bound has shared her story on TikTok, and now people are calling for the driver to be fired.
Amy Pohl, a prominent TikToker with almost four million followers, makes all kinds of fun content. She has also made numerous videos educating viewers about living with a disability. Pohl has spoken numerous times about being a wheelchair user, but her most recent video differed from her usual content.
In the video, she spoke about a bad experience she had after she booked a taxi in London. “A couple of days ago, a London taxi driver refused to let me get in his taxi,” she claimed. Pohl explained that she had booked the taxi on the Freenow app and shortly afterwards her driver, named Frank, arrived.
Pohl described Frank as looking “kind of moody” when he arrived but gave him the benefit of the doubt, assuming he was maybe just having a “bad day.” But that all changed when she spoke to Frank. “Frank looked at me out the passenger window and said, ‘I don’t take people like you.’”
The taxi driver refused
Taken aback by the ableist comment, Pohl asked him to put the ramp down so she could get in the taxi, but Frank allegedly refused. “He then answered, ‘I can’t; you’ll have to book another taxi.’” The driver then allegedly claimed that his “ramp was broken,” which Pohl suspected was just an excuse not to take her as a passenger. “I was like, ‘Prove it, Frank.’”
Pohl went on to explain that, according to Transport for London (TFL), taxi drivers are legally required to have working ramps, and if they don’t, they aren’t allowed to pick anyone up. “I told him this,” she claimed, and he allegedly responded, “I’m not gonna get out, and I’m not gonna get a ramp out.” His statement led Pohl to believe that the ramp was not actually broken.
The TikTok influencer claimed that taxi drivers in London could only refuse passengers if they were going over a certain distance or the driver was medically exempt. When she asked Frank if he had an exemption certificate, he allegedly asked, “What’s that?” but quickly followed up by saying he had a certificate but had left it at home. Pohl said that if Frank had the certificate, he would have to “have it on display at all times.”
Amy reported Frank
Pohl was initially conflicted about reporting the driver despite her terrible experience. She argued that “he could lose his license.” She expressed concern over whether she would be taking away Frank’s only source of income: “I don’t want to be responsible for him losing his job.” However, she claimed that after explaining that to him, Frank simply told her to book another taxi before driving away.
Pohl ultimately was able to book another taxi who she claimed was “absolutely brilliant.” She also reported him and later found out that the app she booked through had banned him, and he was also being investigated by TFL.
Viewers told Pohl not to worry: “Frank is responsible for Frank babe, not you,” one person assured her. “If Frank isn’t willing to meet the requirements of the job, Frank should find another line of work,” another agreed.
(Featured image: Amy Pohl, TikTok)
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