Police Go Undercover To Ensure Wheelchair Users Get Rides

After wheelchair users were snubbed by taxi drivers earlier this year, Boston police decided to go undercover to put the cabbies to the test. So far, they’re passing with flying colors.

Shari Zakim reported to police that she was left high and dry by a cab driver as she tried to get home early on New Year’s Day. The same day Brian McLaughlin said he was left out in the cold at Boston’s Fenway Park even though he paid a taxi driver $200 in advance to be sure that he would have a ride home.

The incidents were enough to prompt a city-wide undercover investigation by Boston police. Officers dress in plain clothes and pose in worn wheelchairs while attempting to get cab rides at various times during the day and night. Drivers pass the test if they pick up the officers and give them the rides they’ve requested. Refusal of a person because they are in a wheelchair is cause for a driver to be suspended.

A month and a half into the investigation officers have not come across any problems. But some drivers have wised up to the stings. And that’s good news, the police say, hopeful that increased awareness will make drivers more likely to follow the rules, reports the Boston Globe. To read more click here.