Taxicards and the disabled

Yesterday I had to go to UCH in Euston Rd for my annual checkup on the progress of my condition. Normally this is not too much of a problem as I have a Haringey taxicard that allows me a £10.80 fare for the reduced price of £2.50 (recently risen from £1.50) and about 52 of such journeys a year. We are issued with a card which is swiped by the driver but as the taxi is usually booked via their office, (unless one happens to go past your door when you want it) there is already something like £3.40 on the clock when you get in it.

Yesterday though, my driver didn't know his way around north London and took me to the hospital via Kings Cross and the full length of Euston Rd in the rush hour. This of course meant the clock was spinning like a good 'un whilst we krept through the slow moving traffic. In the past we were allowed to have the card re-swiped allowing another subsidised journey to be added to the current one, but this time the rules had been changed. Only one swipe was allowed. At the end of my journey the fare, including the subsidy, was £9.90. It seems that Haringey had neglected to tell me this and as I'd only taken £12 cash with me to pay for the there and back rides I didn't have enough to get home.

Luckily the driver of the taxi home (whom I'd hailed in the street thus saving at least £1) was very understanding and with his expert road knowledge I was home with the total fare costing only £5 this time. He waited while I went inside and rumaged my pockets for the extra cash to pay him.

Now I understand that the council is cutting back on services and the way they've worked this one is going to save them mega bucks. I, for one (and I'm not the only one), am not going to use the taxicard anymore unless it's for a really local journey. It's cheaper by minicab. So that means that the council is not only going to be making a saving on the 'one swipe' policy but also on the fact that a lot of us just won't be using it at all so more saving for them.

What really gets my goat though is the fact that we're limited to the amount of journeys we can use the card for per year. Why can't we be allowed to use them when we want to? Two or three swipes if necessary for the one journey. When they're gone, they're gone. End of.

The way it stands at the moment is just pointless for most journeys in London. Is it Haringeys (and some other councils) idea to make sure that disabled people are kept out of sight and dependant on others for shopping and errands that previously we were able to do with that little bit of assisitance that the taxicard gave us?

(eg. I used to use the card once a month to go to Sainsburys in Green Lanes. One day we got caught in that notorious traffic jam just trying to get out of the carpark. Two swipes were needed that day to get home. I won't be doing that again.)