Taxi drivers in Kirklees are threatening to block Britain's busiest motorway in protest over Government proposals concerning wheelchair-using passengers.

The Government is planning to make it compulsory for all taxis to be capable of carrying customers in wheelchairs within the next ten years under the Disability Discrimination Act.

But the Kirklees Hackney Carriage Association, which represents 185 drivers across the district, says the proposed legislation will decimate their livelihoods and mean higher fares.

The members are also angry the proposals do not apply to private-hire operators and claim they are being grossly discriminated against.

Association chairman Mohammed Rajah said: "It would cost about £25,000 for a driver to buy a London-style cab adapted to carry a wheelchair. Few of our members can afford this.''

But Terry Warner, chairman of the campaigning organisation Kirklees One Voice, Federation of Disabled People, said: "This legislation is long overdue. Disabled people have been sidelined for long enough.

"It's not just taxis but buses, shops and businesses people in wheelchairs should have access to without problems.''

However, the association is to spearhead a national campaign early next year to protest about the plans. It has already written to Transport Minister Glenda Jackson.

Mr Rajah said: "We are going to hold a rally somewhere like Hyde Park in London after approaching other hackney carriage associations across the country to ask them for their support.

"Some drivers have suggested blocking the M25 and this is an option we will consider if the Government does not listen to us.''

He said Kirklees was already providing an adequate service for disabled passengers because 50 of the district's 250 taxis were wheelchair-accessible.

But he claimed few of the one thousand private-hire vehicles in Kirklees provided the same level of service for the disabled customers.

Mr Warner said: "At busy times the wheelchair-accessible taxis are not always available and our members often have difficulty getting home from meetings or the shops.''

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