A blind woman was left stranded at Pescara station while attempting to reach the large hotel district in nearby Montesilvano after a taxi driver refused to allow her guide dog into his vehicle. Intervention by the Railway Police (Polfer) proved futile; they assisted the woman in finding alternative transport to her destination but could only report the incident to the municipal police, who hold jurisdiction over such violations.
The incident, reported by local newspaper Il Messaggero, involved a woman of Portuguese origin, long resident in Emilia-Romagna. Arriving in Pescara from Bologna, she sought a taxi to Montesilvano. Upon approaching one taxi, however, the driver denied her boarding with her guide dog. This refusal contravenes Italian law, which explicitly permits blind individuals to travel with their guide dogs on all public transport, including taxis. The woman then sought help from the Railway Police. Officers attempted to reason with the taxi driver, but their mediation failed. Unable to compel the driver, the police assisted the blind woman in securing another taxi and reported the incident to the local police. The local authorities are expected to issue a fine to the driver.
“What happened,” Claudio Ferrante, president of the association ‘Wheelchairs Determined’ (Carrozzine Determinate), told Il Messaggero, “is not just an unpleasant incident, but constitutes real discrimination.”
“This episode is shocking,” Ferrante added, “because it shows us how far inclusion still is from reality.”