War veterans and PTSD assistance dog refused cab fare in Melbourne

TWO war veterans were left stranded after a taxi driver refused to take their PTSD assistance dog in the cab, with the exchange caught on video.

A WAR veteran has told of his disgust after a Melbourne cab driver wrongfully refused him and his specially-trained Post Traumatic Stress Disorder assistance dog a lift.

Josh New was trying to return to Austin Health’s Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital where he is receiving treatment for PTSD when the driver blatantly said he couldn’t transport his dog, Lucky.

Mr New was with fellow Digger, Sean Finnigan — both patients at the hospital — when their fare was rejected at Northlands Shopping Centre on Monday night.

The pair filmed the exchange on a mobile phone, where the Silver Top Taxi driver can be heard telling them to “follow the law”.

“If you are not guide dog ... I won’t pick up,” the driver said.

“That’s not a guide dog, brother. Sorry, sorry. I can’t do it.”

Under law, no taxi driver is allowed to refuse a fare to a person with a disability or assistance dog.

Lucky was wearing a jacket that stated he was an assistance dog.

Even when Mr New offered to show his Young Diggers-issued ID card for Lucky, the driver wasn’t interested.

“We said he was a mental health assistance dog and we need to get back to the hospital but he just told us to get a job and refused to take us,” Mr New wrote online when posting the video.

“I’m sure Lucky is more behaved than most of his passengers on a Friday night.”

Josh New with his mental health assistance dog Lucky.

Two war veterans were denied a cab ride with a PTSD assistance dog.

The video has been viewed thousands of time with people commenting that it was “an absolute disgrace” former Diggers were treated in that way.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Mr New, who served in the Australian Army for just shy of 10 years with two deployments to war-torn Afghanistan, said he was “furious”.

“I was pretty distressed at the time,” he said. “This driver clearly didn’t know the law.”

The pair ended up having to phone the hospital where a nurse came to pick them up.

Silver Top Taxis customer service and compliance administrator Sumit Arora said they were disappointed with the driver’s “unprofessional and unacceptable” actions.

But Mr Arora said that he would not be sacked.

“We do not stand for any driver who will act in this way,” he said. “No member of the public should ever face this.

“We urge all taxi drivers out there that they are out there to serve the community; and that’s what they must do.

“They must never, at any stage, refuse a guide dog or any assistance dog.”

Mr Arora said the driver, who has more than 15 years experience, had been interviewed, cautioned and educated on the appropriate protocols surrounding assistance dogs.

“The driver expressed his regret,” Mr Arora said. “We have disciplined him. He now has an official caution on his record. If he breaches again then we won’t allow him to work with us.”

The Taxi Service Commission is investigating, and has the power to fine the driver up to $400 for refusing to take an assistance animal.

The Herald Sun shared Mr New’s touching story of how Lucky was “the missing piece of his family” and had helped his PTSD immensely earlier this year.

The father of two, from Mt Beauty, has dedicated most of his time this year to fundraise to sponsor more dogs like Lucky for soldiers suffering mental health problems following service.

He had aimed to reach $50,000 to give to the Young Diggers organisation, who train the dogs, by the year’s end.

But his mission has been set back after he had to readmit himself to hospital last month.

To help: https://www.mycause.com.au/page/87133/the-gift-of-lucky-the-young-diggers-dog

Originally published as War veterans and PTSD assistance dog refused cab fare in Melbourne