A blind athlete orders a taxi: when he sees his guide dog, he restarts and leaves, a complaint filed

According to Timothée Adolphe, it often happens that guide dogs are not accepted. Illustration MAXPPP – Alpha-Gareth Gay

Blind Olympic athlete Timothée Adolphe filed a complaint after an unpleasant experience. Although he had ordered a taxi ride, the vehicle started in front of him and canceled the trip. For the sprinter, there is no doubt, the presence of his guide dog was decisive.

He had warned in advance, however, that he was accompanied by a guide dog. Timothée Adolphe, a blind French sprinter, had an unpleasant experience on May 28 in Paris. A few months before the opening of the Olympic Games in the Capital, he chose to file a complaint and explains what he experienced at France Info.

That day he ordered a taxi, specifying that he was with a guide dog, which taxis and VTCs were required to accept on board. When the vehicle is there, the athlete is notified. "There is a car parked across the street and driving away. She leaves. No matter how much I make signs, no one stops. So I say to myself okay, I'm going to call him via the application And the driver doesn't answer and puts me on voicemail. And in the process, the race is canceled", says Timothée Adolphe.

"There's work"

For him, this recurring situation requires filing a complaint, in order to make things happen. "We are less than three months from the Games, we will also welcome people with disabilities with potentially guide dogs. I don't know if, in three months, we will be able to change mentalities, but in any case, there is work!"

The athlete already had a similar experience last year, this time with the company Easyjet, whose staff refused to allow his guide dog to take a seat with him on board the plane. rsquo;plane. However, the French regulations here also stipulate that if the animal is said to be of recognized assistance, the companies are required to let it board with its owner, recalls La Dépêche, which reported on the mishap.

This time, Timothée Adolphe wants things to change. And to reluctant taxi drivers, he reminds that a simple old sheet available in the trunk in case a guide dog accompanies a passenger, constitutes a lesser effort.