Section 170 — Equality Act 2010: Assistance dogs in private hire vehicles

Assistance dogs in private hire vehicles 170 1 The operator of a private hire vehicle commits an offence by failing or refusing to accept a booking for the vehicle—

a if the booking is requested by or on behalf of a disabled person or a person who wishes to be accompanied by a disabled person, and b the reason for the failure or refusal is—

i that the disabled person will be accompanied by an assistance dog, or ii to prevent the driver of the private hire vehicle being made subject to a duty which would otherwise be imposed on the driver by this section.

2 The operator or driver of a private hire vehicle commits an offence by making , or proposing to make, an additional charge for carrying an assistance dog which is accompanying a disabled person.

3 The driver of a private hire vehicle commits an offence by failing or refusing to carry out a booking accepted by the operator—

a if the booking is made by or on behalf of a disabled person or a person who wishes to be accompanied by a disabled person, and b the reason for the failure or refusal is that the disabled person is accompanied by an assistance dog.

4 A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

5 In this section— “ driver ” means a person who holds a licence under— section 13 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 ..., section 51 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 ..., or an equivalent provision of a local enactment; “ licensing authority ”, in relation to any area in England and Wales, means the authority responsible for licensing private hire vehicles in that area; ... ...