Problems with Sheffield City Council's chosen Taxi provider

Hi All,

I am looking for anyone else who has had problems with Sheffield Councils designated taxi companies, my son uses a taxi to get to and from college everyday because he is in a wheelchair.

Historically when the companies are changed we always have teething problems while the driver gets to know my sons needs and vice versa. However this year has been the worst start since Holistic Taxis have taken over. We have seen a worrying trend of Taxi drivers who aren't trained and have little to no experience securing a wheel chair to a cab properly and not having the right equipment.

The first driver they sent simply didn't know how or that he had to secure the wheelchair to the cab via the anchor points thinking he could just use a lap belt and the brakes on the chair. Today they sent a replacement driver and again he didn't know he had to secure the chair properly when I challenged him his response was 'I will drive slowly' as you can imagine my son certainly didn't travel with this person.

I wondered if anyone else had had similar problems with Holistic or we are just unlucky. If you had did you report this to the transport department and what was their response?

I have no personal experience of this sort of thing.

However, I understand that taxi firms or private individuals with a mini bus for example put in tenders for the council contracts. A friend of mine has a mini bus/council contract. He also had to provide an aid (second person) to travel in the back with the disabled person.

It is probably best to contact the relevant department at the council and get some advice regarding your concerns. The council may not be aware of what is happening. Certainly they will advise.